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University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


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AMERICA'S    STORY 


FOR  AMERICA'S   CHILDREN 


BY 

MARA    L.  PRATT 


IN    FIVE   VOLUMES 

I.   THE    BEGINNER'S    BOOK 


BOSTON,  U.S.A. 

D.  C.  HEATH    &    CO.,  PUBLISHERS 

1900 


Copyright,  1900 
By  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 


CONTENTS 

Page 

I.    The  Northmen i 

II.    Olaf  and  Snorri 8 

III.  Christopher  Columbus 23 

IV.  Prince  Montezuma 37 

V.    Leaping  Wolf 53 

VI.    The  Little  Pueblo  Prince 67 

VII.    Virginia  Dare 83 

VIII.    Betty  Alden 89 

IX.    Hans  and  Katrina 101 

X.    The  Boston  Boys 108 

XL    The  Army  of  Two 116 

XII.    The  Boy  in  Gray 121 

XIII.    The  Boy  in  Blue 127 

With  fifty -nine  illustrations 
four  of  which  are  in  color 


America's  Story  for  America's  Children 


I.     THE   NORTHMEN 


Away  up  in  the  Northland, 
where  the  ice  and  snow 
never  melt,  lived  little 
Prince  Eric. 

He  did  not  live  in  a 
palace,  as  the  princes  in 
fairy  stories  do.  In  the 
summer  he  lived  in  a  hut 
on  the  hillside ;  and  in  the 
winter  he  lived  in  a  cave 
in  the  mountains. 

Eric  liked  the  winter. 
For  then  the  men  built 
roaring  fires  in  the  caves, 
and    sat    and    told  wonder- 

From   the  statue  by  Miss  A. 
ful     StOrieS     and      Sang    WOn-  Whitney,  Boston,  Mass. 

derful  songs. 


Leif  Ericson. 


2  AMERICA'S   STORY 

They  told  stories  of  the  sun  and  the  moon, 
and  of  the  thunder  and  the  lightning.  They 
told  stories  of  the  rainbow,  and  of  the  frosts  and 
the  snow. 

"  Why  does  the  warm  summer  go  away?" 
Prince  Eric  asked  one  day.  "And  why  does 
the  long,  cold  winter  come  ?  " 

"  It  is  because  the  Summer  and  the  Frost 
Giants  have  had  a  battle,"  Eric's  father  said. 
"  The  Frost  Giants  have  won  the  battle  and 
have  put  Summer  to  sleep.  But  by  and  by 
Summer  will  wake.  -  Then  he  will  whisper  to 
the  trees  and  to  the  flowers,  and  they  will  send 
out  their  leaves  to  make  the  world  glad  again. 
He  will  breathe  upon  the  brooks  that  are  cov- 
ered with  ice,  and  they  will  dance  and  sing. 
Then  the  Frost  Giants  will  have  to  run  away 
to  their  homes  in  the  ice  mountains  ;  for  they 
cannot  live  here  when  Summer  is  awake." 

Little  Prince  Eric  liked  a  storm.  He  liked 
to  hear  the  thunder  roar,  and  to  see  the  lightning 
flash. 


THE   NORTHMEN  3 

"  The  rumble  of  the  thunder  is  the  voice  of 
the  god  Thor,"  his  father  said ;  "  and  the  light- 
ning is  the  flash  of  his  eye." 

One  day  Prince  Eric  saw  a  beautiful  rain- 
bow. He  had  never  seen  one  before,  and  it  was 
very  wonderful  to  him.  "  Tell  me  the  story  of 
the  rainbow,"  he  cried. 

Then  one  of  the  story-tellers  sat  down  before 
the  fire  and  sang  to  the  little  prince  the  story  of 
the  rainbow. 

"  It  is  a  bridge,"  the  story-teller  sang ;  "  and 
down  the  bridge  good  Odin  comes.  Odin  loves 
the  earth-children,  and  comes  to  us  often  as  we 
sleep  in  our  caves.  We  cannot  see  him,  but  he 
watches  over  us  always.  Sometimes  he  lets  us 
see  his  beautiful  rainbow  bridge.  Sometimes 
the  Frost  Giants  try  to  climb  up  the  bridge  to 
the  home  of  Odin.  Then  the  great  god  Thor  is 
angry !  We  can  hear  his  voice  roaring  among 
the  clouds.  We  can  see  his  eyes  flash  fire,  and 
we  can  hear  the  Crash  !  Crash  !  Crash  !  of  his 
great  hammer  as  he  throws  it  across  the  sky." 


4  AMERICA'S   STORY 

By  and  by,  when  Prince  Eric  had  grown  to 
be  a  man,  he  built  for  himself  a  great  ship  and 
sailed  out  into  the  open  sea. 

"  I  will  find  new  lands,"  he  said. 

As  he  sailed  away,  his  men  sang : 

"  I  am  the  god  Thor ! 
I  am  the  god  of  war  ! 
I  am  the  god  Thor ! 
I  am  the  god  of  war  !  " 

Eric  sailed  and  sailed  till  he  came  to  the 
island  of  Iceland.  Here  he  made  a  new  home 
for  himself  and  his  people. 

By  and  by  Eric  had  a  little  son.  He  named 
him  Leif,  but  the  people  always  called  the  child 
Erics  son. 

Now  Leif  Ericson  was  a  brave  little  prince. 
He  liked  to  listen  to  the  stories  that  his  father 
told  about  the  old  home  in  the  Northland.  He 
liked  to  hear  about  the  wonderful  voyage  his 
father  had  made  across  the  sea.  He  was  proud 
that  his  father  was  so  great  a  hero. 

"  I  will  be  a  hero,"  Leif  said,  as  he  grew  older. 


THE   NORTHMEN  5 

So  when  he  became  a  man,  he  too  set  out 
upon  the  sea  with  a  crew  of  brave  Northmen. 
He  sailed  out  into  the  west  till  he  came  to 
Greenland.  Then  he  sailed  on  and  on  till  he 
came  to  a  long  shore  that  reached  north  and 
south  as  far  as  he  could  see.  This  was  the 
shore  of  our  own  country,  and  these  Northmen 
were  the  first  white  men  that  had  ever  come 
to  it. 

"  This  must  be  a  large  island,"  Leif  said.  So 
he  drove  his  big  ship  toward  the  shore  and 
landed. 

The  Skrellings,  as  Leif  called  the  natives, 
because  of  the  squealing  noises  they  made,  came 
down  to  the  shore  to  see  what  this  strange  ship 
was,  and  why  it  had  come. 

"  It  is  a  big  dragon  ! "  the  Skrellings  said. 
"  See  its  head  and  its  tail !  How  they  shine  in 
the  sunlight ! " 

It  is  no  wonder  the  Skrellings  thought  that 
it  was  a  dragon ;  for  a  Northman's  ship  in 
those   days   was    built    to    look    like   a   dragon 


6  AMERICA'S   STORY 

as  you  will  see  from  the  first  colored  picture 
in  this  book.  The  front  of  the  ship  was  high, 
and  had  a  fierce-looking  head  upon  it.  The 
stern  of  the  ship,  too,  was  high,  and  was  built 
in  the  shape  of  a  dragon's  tail.  The  head  and 
tail  were  covered  with  gold,  and  the  gold  shone 
in  the  sunlight  like  fire.  Another  kind  of  ship 
built  by  the  Northmen  is  shown  at  the  end  of 
this  chapter. 

How  strange  the  dragon  ship  must  have 
looked  as  it  sailed  along  upon  the  water !  Is 
it  any  wonder  the  poor  Skrellings  were  afraid 
when  they  saw  it  coming  into  their  harbor  ? 

But  the  Skrellings  could  frighten  the  Norse- 
men sometimes.  One  day  they  came  down  to 
the  shore  with  long  poles.  On  the  ends  of  the 
poles  were  big,  blue  balls,  which  made  a  whiz- 
zing noise  as  the  Skrellings  whirled  them  about. 

The  Northmen  had  never  seen  anything  like 
them,  and  swam  away  to  their  ships  as  fast  as 
ever  they  could. 

On  this  first  visit  to  our  country  the  North- 


THE   NORTHMEN  7 

men  found  more  wild  grapes  than  they  could 
eat  or  carry  away.  They  had  never  seen  so 
much  fruit  in  all  their  lives.  So  when  they 
went  back  to  their  own  land,  Leif  Ericson  said, 
"  Behold,  we  have  found  a  wonderful  country 
across  the  waters ;  and  we  have  named  it 
Vineland !  " 


A  Northman's  Ship. 

This  picture  was  drawn  from  a  ship  which  had  been  buried  for 
hundreds  of  years  away  up  in  the  Northland. 


A  Mazer,  or  Wooden  Drinking-cup. 

II.     OLAF   AND   SNORRI 

Leif  Ericson  did  not  care  to  make  his  home 
in  this  Vineland  he  had  found. 

"  It  is  warm  and  very  beautiful  there,"  he 
said;  "but  I  love  the  ice  and  snow  of  the 
North.  Let  others  dwell  in  Vineland  if  they 
will.  I  will  stay  in  Greenland,  where  the  ice 
sparkles  and  where  the  sky  is  bright  with  red 
and  purple  and  gold." 

One  day  as  Leif  Ericson  sat  in  the  door- 
way of  his  Northern  hut,  two  gilded  dragon- 
ships  came  sailing  toward  his   shores. 

"  They  are  from  Iceland  !  "  he  cried. 

Then  Leif's  good  friend  Biorne  (Be-ern) 
ran  down  to  the  shore  to  look. 


OLAF   AND   SNORRI  9 

"One  is  the  ship  of  Karlsefni"  (Karl-sef-nee), 
Biorne  said.  "  I  remember  the  stripes  of  blue 
and  white  with  which  he  used  to  paint  his  ship." 

Yes,  it  was  the  ship  of  Karlsefni.  He  had 
sailed  for  days  and  days  across  the  waters  to 
find  his  old  friends,   Leif  and  Biorne. 

"  Tell  me,"  he  said  to  Leif,  "  about  this  won- 
derful Vineland  that  you  found  in  the  west. 
Do  its  shores  stretch  north  and  south  for  miles 
and  miles  ?  Is  the  air  soft  and  warm  ?  Tell 
me  about  the  trees  that  lost  their  leaves  in 
the  winter  and  found  them  again  in  the  sum- 
mer. Are  there  grapes  and  fruits  of  many 
kinds?" 

"  It  is  as  you  have  said,"  Leif  answered. 
He  then  told  Karlsefni  the  long  story  of  his 
voyage  and  of  the  land  that  he  had  found. 

"Would  not  this  new  country  make  a  good 
home  for  our  people  ? "  asked   Karlsefni. 

"  It  is  indeed  a  beautiful  country,"  said 
Leif. 

Soon   Karlsefni   set  out  with  his  two  ships 


io  AMERICA'S   STORY 

to  find  the  land  that  Leif  had  discovered  so 
many  months  before. 

Now  because  Karlsefni  went  to  make  a  home 
for  his  people,  he  took  with  him  his  beauti- 
ful fair-haired  wife,  Gudrid  (Goo-drid),  and  Leif's 
brave  little  son,  Olaf.  The  other  men,  too,  took 
their  families,  and  their  household  furniture, 
and  their  cows.  They  were  as  happy  a  band  of 
colonists  as  ever  crossed  the  seas. 

By  and  by  they  reached  this  shore  of  ours, 
and  landed  not  far  from  the  place  where  Leif 
first  found  the  grapes  and  the  warm  sunshine. 

The  men  set  to  work  with  good  will  and  soon 
built  a  village.  They  traded  with  the  Skrel- 
lings  for  the  warm,  furry  skins  of  the  animals 
which  they  had  killed.  Everything  went  well 
with    the   new-comers  and   the  natives. 

Before  long  a  little  baby  was  born  in  the 
colony.  Its  father,  Karlsefni,  and  its  mother, 
Gudrid,  were  the  proudest  father  and  mother 
in   all  the  world. 

"The  baby  is  a  true  little  Norseman,"  said 


OLAF   AND    SNORRI  n 

Gudrid.     "  See  how  blue  his  eyes  are,  and  how 
yellow  his  hair  is  !  " 

"  He  is  beautiful  like  his  mother,  and  strong 
like  his  father,"  said  the  people. 

From  the  very  day  the  baby  was  born  Olaf 
loved  him.  He  made  a  little  hammock  for  him, 
such  as  those  the  Skrellings  rocked  their  babies 
in;  and  he  liked  nothing  better  than  to  play 
with  him  the  whole  day  long. 

By  and  by  Snorri  (Snor-ree)  —  that  was  the 
baby's  name  —  was  big  enough  to  walk.  Then 
Olaf  would  take  him  down  to  the  water  side  to 
play  in  the  sand. 

Now  one  reason  Karlsefni  came  to  this  new 
land  was  to  find  mazer  wood;  for  Leif  Ericson 
had  said,  "  There  is  much  mazer  wood  in  this 
country ;  enough  for  all  the  people  in  Europe." 

"But  what  is  mazer  wood?"  Olaf  asked; 
for  he  was  quite  too  young  to  know.  So  Leif 
explained  to  Olaf  that  mazer  wood  was  the 
wood  of  those  warts  or  burrs  so  often  to  be  seen 
upon  the  trunks  of  trees.     The  people  of  Europe 


12  AMERICA'S   STORY 

wanted  mazer  wood  because  it  was  hard  and 
tough  and  firm.  It  would  neither  break  nor 
warp  nor  crack.  People  could  carve  upon  it 
and  it  would  endure  for  centuries  as  if  it  were 
rock. 

Still  Olaf  wondered.  Why  did  the  people 
of  Europe  want  this  wood,  even  if  it  were  so 
tough  and  firm? 

But  one  day  Karlsefni  brought  a  fine  large 
bowl  from  his  ship  and  gave  it  to  Olaf.  "  It  is 
from  our  old  home  in  Norseland,"  he  said,  "  and 
it  is  made  of  mazer  wood." 

"  This  is  what  the  people  use  mazer  wood 
for,  my  boy,"  said  Leif;  and  if  the  bowl  had 
been  lined  with  diamonds  Olaf  could  not  have 
been  more  pleased  with  it.  There  is  a  picture 
of  one  of  these  bowls  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter. 

So  when  at  last  Karlsefni  and  the  people 
had  built  their  village,  the  men  set  to  work  to 
find  mazer  wood. 

"We   will    carry  whole   ship-loads    of   it    to 


OLAF   AND    SNORRI  13 

Europe,"  Karlsefni  said ;  "  and  it  will  make 
us  as  rich  as  kings." 

The  men  set  gladly  to  work  felling  the  trees 
and  cutting  out  the  great  burrs  of  mazer  wood. 

But  first  dams  must  be  built  on  the  rivers 
that  led  to  the  ocean ;  for  the  Norsemen  had  no 
horses  or  carts,  and  so  must  float  the  burrs  down 
the  river. 

This  was  great  fun  for  Olaf  and  Snorri. 
They  liked  to  watch  the  ponds  that  were  made  by 
the  dams,  and  they  liked  to  see  the  great  blocks 
of  mazer  wood  floating  down  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river.  Often  the  children  made  tiny  dams 
in  the  brooks,  and  made  believe  float  their  own 
mazer-wood  blocks ;  for,  like  all  little  folks,  they 
tried  to  do  what  the  grown-up  people  did. 

Now  it  happened  that  the  Skrellings  did  not 
like  to  have  their  rivers  and  trees  put  to  this 
use,  so  more  than  once  they  fought  the  little 
colony ;  and  one  day  Gudrid  saw  an  old  squaw 
looking  through  the  bushes  at  the  baby  Snorri 
as  he  lay  asleep  in  his  hammock. 


14  AMERICA'S    STORY 

"  Never  take  Snorri  out  of  sight  of  the  vil- 
lage," Karlsefni  had  said  to  Olaf  many  a  time. 

But  one  day  Olaf  went  into  the  woods  to  set 
a  trap.  Snorri  watched  him  as  he  went  away. 
Then  it  came  into  his  little  head  that  he  would 
follow  Olaf.  Like  a  true  Norseman,  off  he  set 
in  search  of  adventure.  He  soon  reached  the 
woods,  but  where  was  Olaf?  Snorri  looked  all 
around,  but  no  Olaf  was  to  be  seen. 

"Olaf!  Olaf!"  he  shouted  in  his  little  baby 
voice.  Still  no  Olaf.  Then  Snorri  trudged  on 
into  the  forest,  down  the  little  foot-path  toward 
the  lake. 

"  Olaf!  Olaf!"  he  shouted  again.  There  was 
no  answer.  The  forest  was  very,  very  still. 
Just  then  it  came  into  Snorri's  head  to  be  afraid. 
He  looked  around  him ;  there  were  trees,  trees 
everywhere.  He  could  see  no  houses,  no  Olaf; 
he  could  see  nothing  but  trees.  Then  Snorri 
sat  down  in  the  path  and  screamed  and  cried, 
and  cried  and  screamed  :  "  Olaf  !  Olaf !  Oh  !  Oh  ! 
Oh  !  "     So  loudly  did  Snorri  scream  that  Olaf 


OLAF   AND   SNORRI  15    ' 

heard  him  and  came  running  out  from  the 
forest. 

"Olaf!  Olaf !"  wailed  Snorri;  and  he  cuddled 
his  little  yellow  head  down  on  Olaf's  shoulder, 
and  sobbed  as  if  his  heart  would  break. 

"  Don't  cry,  Snorri.  Don't  cry,"  said  Olaf. 
"Climb  up   on  my  back  and   away  we'll  go!" 

Now  nothing  pleased  Snorri  so  well  as  to 
ride  upon  Olaf's  back ;  so  up  he  climbed  and 
away  ran  Olaf  down  the  forest  path.  There 
was  one  hill  beyond  which  Olaf  was  not  allowed 
to  go.  But  this  morning  he  forgot,  and  up  the 
hill  he  ran,  Snorri  still  upon  his  back. 

There  was  a  beautiful  plain  with  fields  of 
corn  beyond  the  hill.  There  was  a  little  pond, 
too,  and  Olaf  thought  it  would  be  great  fun  for 
Snorri  to  sail  ships  upon  its  still  waters.  So 
on  toward  the  pond  Olaf  went,  talking  to  Snorri 
of  the  ships  they  would  sail. 

But  soon  Olaf  heard  a  sound.  It  frightened 
him,  and  he  tried  to  go  back  toward  the  edge  of 
the  wood.    It  was  very  strange,  but  he  could  not 


16  AMERICA'S   STORY 

find  the  foot-path  anywhere.  On  and  on  and 
round  and  round  he  wandered;  but  the  farther 
he  wandered,  the  farther  he  was  from  the  foot- 
path. It  was  beginning  to  grow  dark.  Poor 
Olaf !  Poor  Snorri !  They  were  lost  in  the 
woods. 

It  grew  darker  and  darker,  and  Olaf's  heart 
grew  heavier  and  heavier. 

"  I  'm  so  tired !  "  said  Snorri. 

Then  Olaf  made  a  bed  of  leaves,  spread  his 
own  cloak  over  them,  and  laid  Snorri  upon  the 
soft  bed. 

"  So  tired !  "  Snorri  said  again ;  and  then  he 
fell  fast  asleep.  All  night  long  Snorri  slept, 
and  all  night  long  little  Olaf  lay  by  his  side 
wondering  what  he  should  do.  Would  Karl- 
sefni  come  and  find  them  ?  Would  the  Skrel- 
lings  steal  them  and  carry  them  away  to  their 
wigwams  ?  Would  they  starve  to  death  in  the 
forest  ? 

Just  then  Olaf  heard  a  crackling  sound. 
Was    it  a  Skrelling?     Alas,    it   was;  and    in  a 


OLAF   AND    SNORRI  17 

minute  the  savage  sprang  out  from  the  bushes 
and  seized  Olaf  by  the  shoulder.  "Ugh!  Ugh!" 
he  said  ;  and  Snorri  screamed  and  clung  to  Olaf. 

"  Ugh  !  Ugh  !  "  said  the  Skrelling  again  ; 
and  away  he  marched,  dragging  Olaf  and  Snorri 
along  as  fast  as  their  little  legs  could  run. 

It  was  a  long,  cruel  journey.  Olaf  thought 
it  would  never  end.  But  at  last  they  came  to 
the  Skrelling  village,  and  the  Skrelling  took  the 
children  to  the  wigwam  of  the  chief. 

"  Ugh  !  Ugh  !  "  said  the  chief  ;  and  he  stared 
at  the  little  white  children  till  Snorri  trembled 
with  fear. 

"  Take  Snorri  home,"  sobbed  Snorri.  But 
Olaf  could  not  take  Snorri  home ;  he  could  only 
hold  him  close  in  his  arms  and  try  to  comfort 
him. 

Then  all  the  men  and  women  of  the  tribe 
came  and  looked  at  Olaf  and  Snorri ;  and  one 
good  old  squaw  gave  Snorri  some  milk. 

Then  some  Skrelling  children  came  and  in- 
vited Olaf  to  play  with  them.     But  Olaf  could 


18  AMERICA'S    STORY 

not  understand;  and  if  he  had  understood,  he 
would  not  have  cared  for  play. 

But  the  little  Skrelling  children  liked  their 
white-faced  visitors.  So  they  stuck  feathers  in 
Olaf's  hair  and  tried  to  daub  his  face  with  paints. 
They  had  feathers  in  their  own  hair  and  paint  on 
their  own  faces,  and  they  thought  that  Olaf 
should  have  some,  too. 

Snorri  thought  this  was  very  funny,  and 
when  a  little  Skrelling  put  some  red  paint  on 
Olaf's  nose,  Snorri  laughed  aloud.  This  made 
Olaf  laugh,  too.  Soon  the  children  were  at  play 
together,  running  races  and  throwing  stones  at  a 
target. 

But  all  this  time  there  was  great  excitement 
in  the  home  of  Olaf  and  Snorri.  Where  were 
the  children  ?     Had  the  Skrellings  stolen  them  ? 

Poor  mother  Gudrid's  sweet  face  was  pale 
with  terror.  Karlsefni's  blue  eyes  flashed. 
"Ready,  ready,  my  men!"  said  he;  "search 
every  corner  in  the  forest !  " 

Then    the    men    set    out    together    into    the 


OLAF  AND    SNORRI  19 

forest.  "  Here  are  footsteps,"  said  they  as  they 
reached  the  foot-path.  "  And  small  ones  — 
surely  the  children  have  been  here."  Then  the 
men  hurried  on  to  the  pond ;  but  there  they  lost 
the  trail.  "  They  started  toward  the  pond,"  said 
Karlsefni ;  "  but  there  are  no  footsteps  on  the 
shore." 

By  and  by  the  men  found  the  little  bed  where 
Snorri  had  slept.  There  lay  Olaf's  little  cloak, 
just  as  he  had  spread  it  over  the  leaves. 

"  See  !  see  !  "  cried  Karlsefni ;  and  he  pointed 
to  the  torn  and  broken  branches  where  the  Skrel- 
ling  had  broken  through. 

"A  Skrellinghas  stolen  them!  "  Karlsefni  cried. 
Without  another  word  the  men  hurried  on. 

"  Yes,  here  are  footsteps  !  "  said  the  men. 
"  See,  large  steps  where  the  Skrelling  walked. 
And  on  either  side  little  footsteps,  —  Olaf's  and 
Snorri's  ! " 

"  We  must  go  to  the  Skrelling  village,"  said 
Karlsefni.     "The  children  are  there." 

So  the  men  went  back  to  their  own  village, 


20  AMERICA'S   STORY 

put  their  fort  in  order,  and  left  half  their  force 
of  men  to  guard  it.  Then  the  other  half  set 
forth  up  the  river  to  rescue  the  children. 

At  midnight  the  fort  was  roused.  "  Whoop! 
whoop  !  whoop  !  " 

"The  Skrellings  !  the  Skrellings  !  "  whispered 
the  guard  ;  and  in  a  twinkling  every  Norseman 
was  ready  with  his  spear.  Then  there  was  a 
terrible  fight.  The  Skrellings  burned  the  fort, 
and  the  Norse  warriors  hurried  the  women  and 
children  down  to  the  ship,  glad  enough  to  escape. 
There  on  the  ship  the  men  waited  for  Karlsefni 
and  his  men  to  come  back. 

At  last  they  came,  and  with  them  the  two 
lost  children,  Olaf  and  Snorri. 

"  What  is  this  ?  "  cried  Karlsefni,  as  he  came 
over  the  hill  and  down  into  the  village  he  had  left. 

"Hail!  hail!/ hail!"  shouted  the  Norsemen 
from  the  ship  when  they  saw  Karlsefni  on  the 
hilltop.  But  at  the  same  time  the  Skrellings 
shouted  "  Whoop  !  whoop  !  whoop  !  "  from  the 
forests  round  about. 


The  Fight  between  the  Norsemen  and  the  Skrellings. 


22  AMERICA'S   STORY 

"  They  have  burned  our  village  !  They  have 
driven  our  people  to  the  ship  !  "  said  Karlsefni. 
Without  another  word,  he  and  his  men  rushed 
upon  the  savages. 

There  was  another  fierce  fight,  and  the  Skrel- 
lings  were  driven  back  into  the  forests. 

"  It  is  a  very  sorry-looking  home,"  said 
Biorne,  looking  around  upon  the  smoking 
village. 

"  Let  us  go  back  to  our  own  home  in  the 
North,"  said  one  of  the  men.  "  Why  stay  here 
in  the  midst  of  Skrellings?" 

"  Yes,  let  us  go,"  said  Karlsefni.  "  The  place 
for  Northmen  is  upon  the  sea." 

So  the  men  turned  their  ships  toward  the 
ocean.  Again  the  dragons'  heads  rose  and  fell 
upon  the  waves,  and  away  the  Norsemen  sped, 
back  to  their  homes.     As  they  sailed  they  sang : 

"  I  am  the  god  Thor  ! 
I  am  the  god  of  war  ! 
I  am  the  god  Thor ! 
I  am  the  god  of  war !  " 


III.     CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS 


It  was  nearly  four 
hundred  years  after 
the  Northmen  left 
our  country,  before 
Christopher  Colum- 
bus was  born. 

He  was  born  -in 
a  little  town  by  the 
sea.  This  town  was 
in  southern  Europe, 
where  the  sun  shines 
brightly  all  the  year, 
and  where  the  sea  is 
nearly  always  calm 
and  blue.  Every  day 
ships  came  and  went 


Columbus  when  a  Youth. 


24  AMERICA'S    STORY 

in  the  little  harbor,  and  the  boys  and  girls 
watched  them  from  the  wharf. 

As  soon  as  Columbus  could  walk,  his  brother 
used  to  take  him  down  to  see  the  ships  come 
and  go.  All  day  long  the  brothers  would  play 
about  among  the  boats  that  were  drawn  up  on 
the  beach.  Sometimes  they  were  allowed  to  play 
on  the  decks  of  the  ships  ;  so  that  when  Colum- 
bus was  only  seven  years  old  he  knew  the  name 
of  every  mast  and  every  sail  and  every  rope. 

There  were  row-boats  fastened  to  the  wharf, 
and  Columbus  liked  to  sit  and  rock  in  them. 
Sometimes  his  brothers  would  row  him  out  to 
the  big  ships  in  the  harbor,  and  the  boys  would 
play  that  they  were  sailors  going  out  on  a  voy- 
age across  the  great  ocean.  Then  they  would 
talk  of  the  wonderful  cities  they  were  going  to 
see,  and  the  wonderful  treasures  they  were  go- 
ing to  bring  home. 

When  Columbus  was  old  enough  he  would 
steer  the  boat,  as  you  can  see  him  doing  in  the 
colored  picture,  and  his  big  brother  would  play 


CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS  25 

captain.  "  Keep  due  west !  "  the  brother  would 
shout,  and  Columbus  would  shout  back,  "  Ay, 
ay,  sir." 

Often  Columbus  would  sit  for  hours  watch- 
ing the  sailors  unload  their  ships.  Sometimes 
they  would  let  him  help  them,  and  then  Colum- 
bus would  go  down  into  the  hold,  and  into  the 
cabin  where  the  sailors  lived  while  they  were  on 
board  ship.  He  soon  learned  the  names  of  all 
the  parts  of  even  the  biggest  ships,  and  could 
climb  the  rigging  like  a  real  sailor. 

"You  will  make  a  fine  sailor  by  and  by,"  the 
men  would  say  to  him. 

But  best  of  all,  Columbus  liked  to  listen  to 
the  stories  that  the  sailors  told  of  far-off  coun- 
tries, and  to  look  at  the  wonderful  things  that 
they  brought  from  the  lands  across  the  sea. 

"  I  shall  be  a  sailor  when  I  am  a  man !  " 
Columbus  would  say  to  himself.  "Then  I  shall 
see  these  far-off  lands." 

Now  the  father  of  Columbus  was  a  wool- 
comber.      He    would    have    been    very   glad   to 


26  AMERICA'S    STORY 

have  Columbus  learn  the  wool-comber's  trade. 
But  he  soon  saw  that  his  son  cared  for  nothing 
but  the  sea.  So  he  said  to  him  one  day :  "  I 
will  send  you  to  a  school  where  you  can  learn 
all  about  the  sea.  I  will  send  you  to  a  school 
where  you  can  learn  to  be  a  good  sailor ! " 

This  was  just  what  Columbus  longed  for. 
He  could  hardly  wait  for  the  day  when  he 
should  be  allowed  to  go.  How  he  studied  at 
this  school !  How  fast  he  learned !  His  teachers 
were  proud  of  him ;  and  his  father  and  mother 
were  proud  of  him,  too. 

When  the  boy  had  learned  all  there  was  for 
him  to  learn  at  this  school,  he  came  home  and 
made  ready  to  go  to  sea. 

He  was  only  fourteen  years  old  when  he 
made  his  first  voyage ;  and  he  "  followed  the 
sea"  till  he  was  an  old  man. 

Most  people  in  those  days  thought  that  the 
earth  was  flat.  "  If  it  is  flat,"  they  said,  "  we 
must  take  care  not  to  sail  too  near  the  edge. 
We  might  sail  off,  down  into  nowhere!" 


CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS  27 

But  Columbus,  on  one  of  his  voyages, 
had  been  to  Iceland.  There  he  had  heard  of 
the  Vineland  far  away  in  the  west.  Besides, 
Columbus  had  read  books  which  said  that  the 
earth  is  round  like  a  ball,  and  he  felt  sure  that 
the  books  were  right.  Very  few  people  knew 
about  books  in  those  days  ;  so  when  Columbus 
began  to  talk  about  a  round  earth  the  people 
laughed  at  him. 

"  Anybody  can  see  for  himself  that  the  earth 
is  flat,"  the  people  said. 

"  It  does  not  even  look  flat,"  Columbus  would 
say.  "  Indeed,  when  a  ship  goes  out  to  sea,  it 
seems  to  sail  down  over  a  rounded  surface.  And 
when  the  ship  comes  back  it  is  the  tops  of  the 
masts  we  see  first." 

The  people  listened,  but  they  did  not  believe 
him. 

"  He  is  crazy,"  they  said. 

"  If  I  had  a  ship  and  some  good  sailors," 
Columbus  thought,  "  I  know  I  could  sail  out 
into  the  west  and  around  the  world." 


28  AMERICA'S    STORY 

For  many  years  no  one  would  believe  him ; 
and  he  could  find  no  sailors  brave  enough  to 
sail  out  into  the  strange  seas  with  him. 

"  The  earth  is  flat,  and  we  should  sail,  off 
the  edge  !  "  the  people  would  say.  "  Then,  too, 
there  are  dragons  and  sea-serpents  out  in 
the  strange  seas.     They  would  eat  us  alive." 

After  a  long  time  Columbus  found  a  good 
old  monk  who  listened  to  him.  This  monk  was 
a  wise  man,  and  he  believed  what  Columbus 
said.  The  monk  went  to  Isabella,  Oueen  of 
Spain,  and  said:  "Here  is  a  man  who  can  bring 
great  riches  to  Spain.  Let  me  bring  him  to 
you,  and  let  him  tell  his  story." 

So  Queen  Isabella  called  Columbus  to 
the  palace,  and  he  spread  out  his  maps  and 
told  his  story.  The  friends  of  the  Queen 
could  see  no  sense  in  what  he  told  them ; 
they  laughed  at  him  and  called  him  a  mad- 
man. The  King  and  Queen,  however,  believed 
that  Columbus  was  right,  and  they  promised 
to  give  him  ships. 


CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS 


29 


"  It  can  do  no  great  harm,"  they  said, 
"  even  if  he  is  mistaken.  And  if  he  is  right, 
then  we  shall  find  a  short  way  to  the  Spice 
Islands  !  Think  how  much  time  and  money  it 
will  save ! " 


A  Ship  of  the  Time  of  Columbus. 


Columbus  hardly  dared  believe  the  King  and 
Queen  when  they  promised  to  help  him.  Were 
they  really  going  to  give  him  ships? 

In  1492  Columbus  sailed  out  from  the  little 
port  of  Palos  in  Spain,  while  the. people  crowded 
down  to  the  wharves  to  see  the  ships  depart. 


30  AMERICA'S    STORY 

"  These  men  will  never  come  back,"  some  of 
the  people  said.     "  The  dragons  will  eat  them." 

But  there  were  a  few  wise  ones  in  the  crowd, 
and  they  said  to  the  sailors  :  "  Be  brave.  Obey 
Columbus.  He  knows  what  to  do.  Think  of 
the  glory  of  finding  a  short  way  to  the  Spice 
Islands ! " 

Then  the  sailors  cheered:  "  Long  live  Spain!" 
"Long  live  the  King!  "  "Long  live  the  Queen!" 
"  Long  live  Columbus  !  " 

While  the  people  were  still  cheering,  the 
little  vessels  sailed  out  of  the  harbor.  Out  into 
the  west,  straight  across  the  sea,  they  sailed  for 
days  and  days. 

No  vessel  had  ever  sailed  so  far  from  the 
coast  before,  and  it  was  no  wonder  that  the 
sailors  began  to  be  afraid.  Would  they  sail 
over  the  edge  of  the  earth  ?  The  longer  the 
sailors  thought  about  it,  the  more  frightened 
they  grew. 

"  Why  did  we  ever  come  ?  "  said  one  sailor. 

"  Columbus  is  a  madman,"  said  another. 


CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS  31 

"  Why  do  we  obey  him  ?  "  said  a  third. 

"  Let  us  chain  him  up  and  take  him  back  to 
Spain  ! " 

"  Let  us  throw  him  overboard  !  " 

Columbus  knew  that  the  sailors  were  angry. 
He  soon  learned  that  they  were  planning  to  take 
the  ships  back  to  Spain.  But  he  knew  also  that 
the  vessels  were  nearing  land.  "  It  would  be  a 
great  pity  to  turn  back  now,"  he  thought. 

So  he  called  his  men  to  him. 

"  We  are  very  near  land,"  he  said.  "  Do  you 
see  the  fresh  branches  of  trees  that  float  by? 
They  cannot  have  floated  far.  If  they  had,  they 
would  not  look  so  fresh  and  green.  And  have 
you  seen  the  small  birds  in  the  air  ?  Surely, 
small  birds  do  not  fly  far  from  land  ! " 

Still  the  sailors  frowned  and  sulked. 

"We  don't  care  where  we  are,"  they  mut- 
tered.    "  We  want  to  get  back  to  Spain." 

So  at  last  Columbus  said,  "  Give  me  three 
days  more.  If  we  do  not  see  land  then,  I  will 
turn  our  vessels  toward  home." 


32  AMERICA'S    STORY 

To  this  the  sailors  agreed,  and  the  vessels 
sailed  on. 

But  how  anxious  Columbus  was  !  Would 
he  have  to  give  up,  and  go  back  to  Spain  ? 

One  morning,  just  at  daybreak,  there  came  a 
call  from  the  first  ship.  "  Land  !  land  !  land  ! " 
the  sailors  shouted  with  all  their  might. 

Columbus'  heart  beat  fast.  Could  it  be  true? 
Yes,  there  was  land.     Every  sailor  could  see  it. 

In  a  few  hours  the  vessels  came  close  to  an 
island.  The  sailors  jumped  into  the  small  boats, 
and  quickly  rowed  to  the  shore. 

Meantime,  the  Red  Men  on  the  land  had 
seen  the  ships,  and  they,  too,  hurried  down  to 
the  shore. 

"  Why  have  these  strange  canoes  come  to 
our  island?"  they  wondered ;  for  the  Red  Men 
had  never  seen  anything  like  them. 

"  Are  they  canoes  ?  Or  are  they  birds  with 
white  wings  ?  If  they  are  canoes,  how  do  they 
move  along  the  waters  without  oars  ?  "  the  Red 
Men  said  to  each  other. 


CHRISTOPHER   COLUMBUS  33 

But  when  the  Spaniards  landed,  the  Red 
Men  wondered  still  more.  They  had  half  a 
mind  to  run  back  into  the  woods.  But  the 
bright-colored  clothing  of  the  Spaniards  was  so 
wonderful !  The  Red  Men  had  never  seen  any- 
thing so  beautiful. 

*  Now,  Columbus  had  brought  with  him  a 
great  cross  and  a  Spanish  flag ;  ar)d  when  the 
men  were  landed,  Columbus  set  up  the  cross 
and  raised  the  flag. 

Then  the  sailors  knelt  before  the  cross.  A 
good  monk  gave  thanks  to  God  for  having 
brought  them  over  the  seas  in  safety,  and  the 
poor  natives  looked  on  in  wonder.  The  island 
was  very  beautiful.  There  was  fruit  in  plenty, 
and  the  sailors  were  glad  to  explore. 

"We  must  be  on  the  shores  of  Asia," 
Columbus  said ;  for  he  did  not  know  that  he 
had  come  to  America. 

"  And  if  this  is  the  shore  of  Asia,  we 
have  found  a  short  way  to  the  Spice  Islands. 
Indeed,  this  may  be  one  of  them." 

3 


34  AMERICA'S   STORY 

Columbus  was  now  anxious  to  get  back  to 
Spain.  He  longed  to  tell  the  King  and  Queen 
of  his  success,  and  that  the  short  route  had 
been  found.  He  longed,  too,  to  tell  them  that 
the  earth  is  round  like  a  ball,  and  that  ships  can 
indeed  sail  around  it. 

So  the  sailors  gathered  some  of  every  kind 
of  fruit  and  flowej ;  they  seized  a  few  of  the 
natives,  and  then  sailed  back  to  Spain. 

You  should  have  heard  the  people  shout 
when  Columbus  sailed  into  the  harbor  of 
Palos.  It  was  the  greatest  voyage  that  had 
ever  been  made.  For  the  first  time  ships 
had  sailed  straight  across  the  broad  ocean. 
And  they  had  not  sailed  over  the  edge  of  the 
earth,  and  no "  dragons  had  eaten  the  sailors 
alive. 

"  Long  live  Columbus  !  Long  live  Colum- 
bus !    Long  live  Columbus!"  the  people  shouted. 

Then  Columbus  went  before  the  King  and 
Queen,  as  you  see  in  the  picture  opposite,  and 
told    them    all    about   the  voyage.     He  showed 


Reception  of  Columbus. 

Adapted  from  the  picture,  by  Ricardo  Balaca  the  famous  Spanish  artist. 
The  figures  and  objects  are  taken  from  statues  and  pictures  of  the  time. 


36  AMERICA'S    STORY 

them   the    strange  fruits    and   flowers,   and    the 
natives  in  their  feathers  and  war  paint. 

The  King  and  Queen  were  proud  of  Colum- 
bus. They  gave  him  rich  presents ;  and  honors 
were  poured  upon  him.  People  no  longer 
laughed  at  him ;  they  no  longer  called  him  a 
madman.  They  were  anxious  to  do  all  they 
could  to  honor  him ;  for  now  Columbus  was  a 
great  man  in  Spain. 


Montezuma,  the  Last  King  of  Mexico. 

From  Montanus  and  Ogilby. 


IV.     PRINCE    MONTEZUMA 

The  white  men  at  first  supposed  that  all  the 
people  in  the  new  world  were  wild  and  savage, 
like  those  that  Leif  Ericson  and  Columbus  had 
seen.  But  this  was  not  so ;  for  in  Mexico  there 
were  Aztec  Indians,  who  had  fine  houses  and  a 
well  built  city.  In  this  city  lived  little  Prince 
Montezuma.  His  palace  was  almost  as  grand 
as  those  in  Spain.     He  dressed  in  robes  of  beau- 


38  AMERICA'S   STORY 

tiful  colors,  and  wore  rings  upon  his  fingers  and 
bracelets  upon  his  wrists,  and  around  his  neck 
were  strings  of  beautiful  shells.  No  boy  in  the 
city  could  shoot  an  arrow  or  throw  a  spear  as 
well  as  he ;  and  when  the  boys  played  at  games, 
he  was  the  most  skilful  of  them  all. 

These  Aztec  people  were  proud  of  their 
Prince  and  of  their  fine  city,  with  its  high  walls 
and  its  temples  studded  with  pearls  and  precious 
stones.  The  city  was  built  on  an  island  in  a 
great  lake.  Across  the  lake  were  fine  bridges. 
There  were  so  many  of  them  that  they  looked 
like  the  spokes  of  a  great  wheel,  with  the  city 
at  the  hub. 

When  Prince  Montezuma  was  born  he  was 
placed  in  a  little  cradle  and  kept  there  for  three 
days.  Everybody  came  to  look  at  him  and  to 
admire  him,  but  no  one  except  his  nurse  was 
allowed  to  touch  him  until  after  the  fourth  day. 

On  the  fourth  day  the  little  Prince  was  taken 
up  by  his  nurse  and  given  his  first  bath,  for  now 
he  was  to  have  a  name. 


PRINCE    MONTEZUMA  39 

After  he  was  bathed  and  wrapped  in  a  beau- 
tiful robe,  the  nurse  carried  him  into  a  great  hall 
in  the  palace. 

"This  child  shall  be  called  Montezuma," 
the  nurse  cried  in  a  loud  voice.  Then  three 
boys,  who  had  been  chosen  because  they  had 
loud  voices,  shouted  three  times,  "  Montezuma  ! 
Montezuma!  Montezuma!"  In  this  way  the 
little  Prince  was  named. 

The  birth  of  a  Prince  was  a  great  event  to 
the  Aztec  people ;  so  they  made  pictures  of 
Montezuma  when  he  lay  in  his  cradle  and  when 
he  was  being  christened. 

They  were  so  pleased  with  Montezuma,  that 
they  went  on  making  pictures  of  him  until  he 
was  a  warrior  grown.  On  the  next  page  is  a  pic- 
ture of  the  little  Prince  when  he  was  three  years 
old.  We  know  that  he  was  three  years  old  by 
the  three  circles.  The  man  in  the  picture  is  his 
father.  The  half-circle  shows  that  his  father  is 
telling  Montezuma  that  he  is  now  old  enough 
to  eat  bread ;  but  that  he  must  eat  only  half  a 


40 


AMERICA'S    STORY 


roll.     The  mother  in  the  picture  is  showing  one 
of  the  little  Princesses  her  half-roll. 


OOO 


a—mi — tagua 


Next  is  a  picture  of  Montezuma's  father,  and 
of  Montezuma  when  he'was  four  years  old.  His 
father  is  teaching  him  to  carry  a  basket  so  that 

r 


he  may  grow  to  be  a  useful  boy.  You  see 
that  he  is  now  allowed  to  eat  a  whole  roll. 
The  little  girl,  also,  is  being  taught  by  her 
mother  to  do  some  useful  work. 


PRINCE    MONTEZUMA 


4i 


Here  is  still  another  picture  of  Montezuma 
and  his  father.  Montezuma  is  now  five  years 
old ;  and  his  father  is  teaching  him  to  carry  on 
his  back  a  heavy  weight  hanging  from  his 
head.  This  is  to  make  his  muscles  grow  strong, 
so  that  he  will  hold  up  his  head  as  an  honest, 


OOOOO 


manly  lad  should.     The   little  Princess  is   now 
learning  to  use  the  spinning-wheel. 

In  the  next  picture  Montezuma  is  seven 
years  old.  His  father  is  teaching  him  to  fish 
with  a  net ;  for  of  course  a  Prince  must  never  be 
idle.  Then,  too,  he  must  know  how  to  do  every- 
thing that  his  people  know  how  to  do.  The 
Princess  has  learned  to  use  the  spinning-wheel, 


42  AMERICA'S   STORY 

and  now  each  of  the  children  has  a  roll  and  a 
half  a  day. 


o 

oooooo 


wmJ 


Sometimes   Montezuma  did  not  behave  very 
well.     Here   is   a   picture    of  his    father   threat- 


oooo 
oooo 


ev- 


ening the  young  Prince  with  punishment. 
Do  you  see  those  little  sharp  thorns  in  the 
picture  ?       The     father    will     stick    them     into 


PRINCE   MONTEZUMA  43 

Montezuma's  shoulders  if  he  is  not  a  good 
boy.  See  the  tears  running  down  Montezuma's 
face !  He  is  promising  his  father  that  he  will 
be  good,  and  that  he  will  never  do  so  again  if 
his  father  will  spare  him  this  time.  If  the 
Princess  is  not  a  good  girl  her  punishment  will 
be  a  thorn  in  her  hand. 


0000 
00000 


=J 


But  alas  !  poor  little  Montezuma!  He  must 
have  forgotten  his  promise ;  for  here  is  another 
picture  which  tells  us  how  one  day  when  he  was 
nine  years  old,  Montezuma's  father  did  punish 
him  with  the  thorns.  And  the  Princess  must 
have  been  doing  something  wrong,  for  she,  too, 
is  being  punished. 

The  little  thing  like  a  tongue  in  front  of  the 


44  AMERICA'S    STORY 

faces  in  the  picture  is  meant  to  show  that  the 
father  and  mother  are  speaking. 

The  Aztecs  could  not  write ;  so  they  kept 
the  story  of  what  their  people  did  by  means  of 
pictures  which  they  painted  upon  the  walls  of 
the  temples.  Some  of  the  walls  were  covered 
with  pictures ;  and  from  time  to  time  the  priests 
explained  them  to  Prince  Montezuma. 

"  Surely  a  Prince  must  know  the  story  of  his 
own  people,"  the  priests  would  say. 

There  was  one  group  of  pictures  that  Monte- 
zuma liked  very  much.  The  group  told  of  four 
terrible  plagues  which  once  came  upon  the 
Aztecs,  and  destroyed  nearly  all  the  people. 

The  Prince  studied  these  story  pictures  until 
he  could  repeat  them  as  well  as  the  priests. 

Here  are  the  four  pictures,  and  here  is  the 
story  as  little  Montezuma  used  to  tell  it:  — 

"  The  first  picture  tells  of  a  great  flood  that 
came  to  destroy  my  people.  Those  who  were 
not  drowned  were  changed  to  fishes.  I  see  the 
Rain  god  at  the  top  of  the  picture  pouring  water 


PRINCE   MONTEZUMA 


45 


from  the  rain-making  machine  down  upon  my 
people.  But  one  man  and  one  woman  escaped, 
and  hid  in  a  cave ;  and  so  my  people  were  saved 
a  first  time.     After  this  there  was  peace  in  my 


oooooooo 


i.    The  Rain. 


land  for  four  thousand  and  eight  years.  I  know 
that  by  the  circles  in  the  corner  of  the  picture ; 
for  each  little  circle  means  one  year,  and  each 
of  the  larger,  blacker  circles  means  four  hundred 
years. 


46 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


"The  second  picture  tells  of  a  great  wind  that 
came  to  destroy  my  people.     Some  of  them  were 


ooooo 
Ooooo 


2.    The  Wind. 


at   this  time   changed   into  monkeys  with   long 


tails. 


But  again  one  man  and  one  woman  hid 


from  the  Wind  god,  and  so  my  people  were  saved 
a  second  time.    Then  there  was  peace  in  my  land 


PRINCE.  MONTEZUMA  47 

for  four  thousand  and  ten  years,  as  I  can  read 
from  the  circles  in  the  corner  of  the  picture. 


3.    The  Fire. 


"  The  third  picture  tells  of  a  great  fire  that 
came  to  destroy  my  people.  At  the  top  of  the 
picture  is  the  Fire  god  with  his  fan  in  his  hand. 


48  AMERICA'S    STORY 

Flames  are  coming  out  of  his  head,  and  his  tail 
is  a  long  line  of  fire.  But  again  one  man  and 
one  woman  hid  in  a  cave ;  and  so  my  people 
were  saved  a  third  time.  Then  there  was  peace 
in  my  land  for  four  thousand  four  hundred  and 
four  years,  as  I  can  read  from  the  circles  in  the 
corner  of  the  picture. 

"  The  fourth  picture  tells  of  a  great  famine 
that  came  to  destroy  my  people.  In  the  picture 
I  see  the  Famine  god  reaching  down  to  snatch 
away  the  grain  and  fruit  of  the  earth.  But  the 
Famine  god  did  not  get  all  of  the  grain  and 
fruit.  The  reapers  saved  enough  to  keep  them 
from  starving ;  and  so  my  people  were  saved 
a  fourth  time.  After  this  there  was  peace  in 
my  land  for  five  thousand  two  hundred  and  six 
years,  as  I  can  read  from  the  circles  in  the 
corner  of  the  picture." 

By  and  by,  when  Montezuma  grew  to  be  a 
man,  he  was  made  King  over  the  Aztec  people. 
He  no  longer  played  with  the  boys  of  the  city,  but 
sat  upon  a  golden  throne  in  a  grand  hall.    He  wore 


PRINCE    MONTEZUMA 


49 


a  golden  crown  upon  his  head  and  sat  in  a  golden 
chair,  and  his  feet  rested  upon  a  golden  stool. 
You  should  have  seen  Montezuma  when  he 


J*3 


4.    The  Famine. 


ate  his  dinner.  First  his  servants  came  and 
stood  before  the  throne ;  then  each  servant  of- 
fered some  dainty  dish  to  the  King.  The  King 
looked  at  the  dishes  and  chose  the  one  he  liked 
best  by  pointing  at  it  with  a  long  golden  rod. 


5o  AMERICA'S   STORY 

Then  the  servant  placed  the  dish  upon  a  golden 
table  and  the  other  servants  turned  and  went 
away.  Then  Montezuma  sat  in  a  golden  chair 
at  the  golden  table,  and  ate  his  dinner  from  a 
golden  plate,  all  by  himself. 

He  proved  to  be  a  good,  kind  King.  His 
people  loved  him  and  were  happy. 

One  day  some  Spanish  ships  came  to  the 
country  of  the  Aztecs.  The  natives  were  afraid 
when  they  saw  the  ships  coming  toward  the 
shore.  "  What  can  these  strange  things  be  ?  " 
they  asked  each  other. 

"  They  have  wings." 

"  And  there  are  white  men  in  the  towers  !  " 

Then  the  people  ran  to  tell  King  Montezuma 
what  had  happened. 

"  I  will  send  presents  to  these  strangers," 
said  he.  "  But  tell  them  that  they  must  not 
come  into  my  city." 

The  Spaniards  did  not  care  for  what  the  King 
said,  but  marched  straight  on  until  they  came  to 
Montezuma's  wonderful  city. 


PRINCE   MONTEZUMA  51 

"  There  must  be  much  gold  in  this  city,"  said 
the  Spaniards.  "  We  will  take  it."  And  they 
began  at  once  to  fight  with  the  Aztecs. 

The  Aztecs  fought  well,  for  they  were  brave 
and  they  loved  their  city.  But  the  Spaniards 
had  guns  and  gunpowder,  and  were  stronger 
in  battle  than  the  Aztecs. 

Soon  Montezuma  was  killed,  and  the  city  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards.  They  broke  into 
the  houses  and  the  temples,  hoping  to  find  great 
treasure ;    but  the  Aztecs  had  hidden  it  away. 

"  Bring  the  son  of  this  King  Montezuma  to 
us,"  said  the  Spaniards. 

The  young  Prince  was  brought. 

"Where  have  you  hidden  the  treasure?  "  the 
Spaniards  cried. 

But  the  brave  Prince  would  not  tell. 
"  Speak !    or   we   will   burn  you  with  red-hot 
irons." 

Still  not  a  word  from  the  brave  son  of  King 
Montezuma. 

The  hot  irons  were  brought. 


52  AMERICA'S   STORY 

"  Will  you  tell  us  where  the  treasure  is  ?  " 
the  Spaniards  asked  again. 

"  Never !  "  cried  the  Prince. 

Then  the  Spaniards  burned  him  with  the  red- 
hot  irons  as  they  had  said  they  would.  Still  he 
would  not  tell  where  the  treasure  was. 

"  Stone  him  !  " 

"  Lash  him  !  " 

"  Pierce  him  with  the  sabres ! "  cried  the 
Spanish  soldiers. 

But  to  the  very  end  the  Prince  would  not 
tell ;  and  the  Spaniards  went  away  without  any 
treasure. 

"  We  have  found  a  great  city,"  was  all  the 
Spanish  leader  could  say. 

"  But  we  have  gained  no  gold,"  grumbled  the 
soldiers.  For  the  soldiers  cared  little  for  the 
grand  city.  It  was  gold  they  wanted,  and  this 
they  had  not  been  able  to  find. 


Wampum  Belt. 


V.     LEAPING  WOLF 


Leaping  Wolf  was  an  Indian  boy.  His  father 
was  the  great  chief  of  the  Iroquois,  who  lived  in 
a  village  of  long  houses  south  of  Lake  Ontario. 

The  Iroquois  were  a  powerful  tribe.  They 
were  so  great  that  no  other  tribe  dared  to  attack 
them.  They  liked  to  fight,  and  all  their  games 
and  dances  had  to  do  with  war.  When  a  shield 
was  to  be  made,  the  people  came  together  to 
pray  to  the  gods  for  success  in  war.  When 
arrows  were  to  be  made,  the  people  prayed  that 
the  arrows  might  go  straight  to  the  hearts  of 
their  enemies. 

The  scalp  dance  was  their  special  delight. 
They  held  it  just  as  the  twilight  began  to  fall. 
The  warriors  daubed  their  faces  with  gay-col- 
ored  paints ;    they  stuck  feathers  in   their  hair, 


54  AMERICA'S   STORY 

and  carried  drums  and  horns  and  rattles.  And 
as  if  they  could  not  make  noise  enough  with  all 
these,  they  yelled  and  whooped  as  loud  as  they 
could. 

The  procession  marched  straight  into  the 
village.  Then  torches  were  lighted ;  a  fire  was 
made ;  and  the  warriors  formed  in  a  circle 
round  it. 

Then  the  chief  leaped  out  into  the  open  space. 
He  shouted  the  story  of  his  wonderful  deeds, 
and  boasted  of  the  many  warriors  he  had  slain  ; 
while  over  his  head  he  waved  the  scalps  he  had 
taken. 

When  the  chief  had  finished  his  story, 
another  warrior  would  leap  out.  Then  another 
and  another,  each  one  yelling  the  story  of  his 
bravery  until  he  could  yell  no  longer. 

As  each  warrior  finished,  the  people  shouted, 
"  Waugh  !  waugh  !  waugh  !  "  which  meant, 
"That  is  good  !    that  is  good !    that  is  good  !  " 

The  houses  Leaping  Wolf's  people  built 
were  large  enough  to  hold  several  families,  and 


LEAPING  WOLF  55 

they  are  always  spoken  of    now  as    the    "  long 
houses  of  the  Iroquois." 

Leaping  Wolf  had  a  good  time  in  his 
village,  for  something  was  always  happening  or 
going  to  happen. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year,  when  the  moon 
was    full,  came    the  first   great    holiday  for  the 


a^^^fe  "^Killi 


Long  Houses  of  the  Iroquois. 

people.  At  that  time  the  holy  meeting  was  held. 
Then  Leaping  Wolf's  father  and  all  the  other 
chiefs  came  together  and  made  speeches  to  each 
other  for  four  whole  days.  Leaping  Wolf  was 
never  interested  in  the  speeches  ;  but  at  the  close 
of  the  fourth  day  there  were  games  and  dances, 
and  in  these  he  could  take  part. 


56  AMERICA'S   STORY 

In  the  early  spring  Leaping  Wolf's  people 
had  their  second  festival.  At  this  time  the 
people  gathered  for  a  dance  around  the  maple 
trees.  They  believed  that  this  dance  helped  to 
make  the  sap  flow.  Even  the  babies  were  taken 
to  this  sugar  festival,  and  when  it  was  over,  the 
mothers  made  all  kinds  of  soups,  sweetened  with 
maple  syrup. 

Then  came  the  festival  for  corn-planting ; 
next,  the  strawberry  festival ;  and  last  of  all,  the 
great  festival  when  the  corn  was  harvested. 

During  the  long  winter  that  came  after  the 
harvest  festival,  there  was  still  much  in  Leaping 
Wolf's  village  to  keep  him  amused  and  happy. 
Best  of  all,  he  thought,  were  the  stories  that  his 
father  used  to  tell. 

"  There  is  one  star  that  never  moves,"  said 
Leaping  Wolf  one  night  when  he  was  out  on 
the   plain  with   his   father. 

"  Yes,"  said  his  father.  "  Once  there  was  no 
such  star.  But  long  ago  some  Iroquois  hunters 
were  lost  on  the  great  plains.     They  walked  on 


LEAPING  WOLF  57 

day  after  day  till  their  corn  gave  out  and  they 
were  nearly  starved.  At  last  they  came  into 
the  land  of  some  people  called  pygmies. 

"  '  Lead  us  to  our  homes,'  said  the  hunters. 

"  The  pygmies  said,  '  A  star  shall  be  set 
in  the  sky  to  guide  you.' 

"  Then  this  star  that  never  moves  shone 
out,  pointing  the  way  to  the  Iroquois'  home. 
JEver  since  that  time  this  star  has  stood  fixed 
in  the  sky.  All  other  stars  change  their  places. 
Sometimes  they  are  high  in  the  heavens,  some- 
times low  ;  but  this  one  star  never  changes.  It 
stands  in  one  place  always,  to  guide  the  lost 
hunters  to  their  homes." 

Leaping  Wolf  believed  that  there  was  a 
spirit  in  the  wind,  in  the  sun,  in  the  moon,  in 
the  trees,  in  the  corn  —  in  everything.  He  was 
afraid  of  some  of  these  spirits ;  some  of  them  he 
loved.  He  was  sure  that  he  had  seen  the  spirit 
of  the  corn  dressed  in  her  long  leaves  and  silken 
tassels.  The  spirit  of  the  squash  and  the  spirit 
of  the  bean  were  very  fond  of  the  spirit  of  the 


58  AMERICA'S   STORY 

corn.  Leaping  Wolf  was  sure  of  this,  for  he 
often  saw  the  bean  and  the  squash  twining  their 
arms  lovingly  around  the  corn. 

His  father  also  told  him  that  once  there 
were  terrible  stone  giants  in  the  sky.  These 
giants  hated  the  earth  people  and  tried  to  de- 
stroy them.  One  day  the  giants  made  up  their 
minds  to  kill  all  the  earth  children  they  could 
find ;  so  they  started  forth  with  great  clubs  over 
their  shoulders. 

"  We  will  fight  them,"  said  the  brave  Iro- 
quois. So  the  chiefs  came  out  to  meet  the  stone 
giants.  They  hid  behind  trees  with  their  arrows 
ready,  till  by  and  by  they  saw  one  giant  coming 
across  the  plain.  He  was  taller  than  a  tree,  and 
scalps  of  earth  children  were  hanging  from  his 
wicked  club.  Then  the  Iroquois  warriors  shot 
their  arrows  at  him  as  fast  as  they  could. 

"  Brave,  brave  warriors!"  whispered  the  West 
Wind.  So  well  pleased  was  the  West  Wind 
with  the  brave  Iroquois  warriors  that  he  helped 
them  fight  the  giants.     He  blew  and  blew  and 


LEAPING   WOLF  59 

blew,  till  at  last  every  one  of  them  was  blown 
into  the  lake  and  drowned. 

"  And  that  is  why,"  said  Leaping  Wolf's 
father,  "  the  Iroquois  are  so  grateful  to  the  West 
Wind.  That  is  why  we  hold  a  festival  every 
year,  in  honor  of  our  good  friend." 

Leaping  Wolf  once  wrote  a  letter  to  an 
Indian  boy  who  lived  in  the  West.  His  letter 
did  not  look  like  one  that  you  would  write  ;  but 
Leaping  Wolf's  friend  understood  it  and  was,  no 
doubt,  pleased  with  it.     Here  is  the  letter. 


The  warrior  on  the  right  is  Leaping  Wolf 
starting  out  on  a  hunt.  The  two  little  v's  show 
that  he  was  gone  two  suns  —  that  is,  two  days. 
The    three    heads    show    that    he    shot    three 


6o 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


does.  Had  they  been  three  deer,  Leaping  Wolf 
would  have  made  horns  on  the  heads  ;  but  as 
he  drew  no  horns,  his  Indian  friend  in  the  West 
knew  that  they  were  three  does. 

Leaping  Wolf's  friend  also  wrote  a  letter. 
When  Leaping  Wolf  read  it  he  said,  "  My  friend's 
father  is  a  brave  warrior."     Here  is  the  letter. 


The  man  on  the  left  is  the  father  setting  out 
to  buy  shells.  There  is  a  shell  in  the  picture, 
just   above  the    moons.     This  warrior   met    an 


LEAPING  WOLF  61 

enemy  and  killed  him,  for  there  is  the  enemy's 
scalp.  The  three  black  circles  show  that  the 
father  of  Leaping  Wolf's  friend  travelled  three 
dark  nights. 

The  two  upright  lines  at  the  end  show  that 
the  letter  is  finished.  That  was  the  friend's 
way  of  closing  his  letter,  instead  of  signing 
himself,  as  you  would,  "  Yours  very  truly." 

One  day  little  Leaping  Wolf  was  sitting 
in  the  doorway  of  his  long  house,  making  story 
pictures  for  his  father. 

"  Soon  you  will  be  big  enough  to  go  into 
battle  with  me,"  his  father  was  saying.  Leap- 
ing Wolf's  eyes  shone,  and  the  feathers  nodded 
back  and  forth  on  his  head.  He  seized  his 
arrows  in  his  little  fist  and  wished  that  he  were 
big  enough  to  go  into  battle  that  very  day. 

"  We  have  had  no  war  with  those  savages 
across  the  lake  for  a  long  time,"  said  Leaping 
Wolf's  father.  "  They  are  cowards,"  he  said  ; 
"  they  have  no  warriors,  and  their  chiefs  are 
like  women.     Ugh  !  ugh  !  " 


62  AMERICA'S   STORY 

Then  Leaping  Wolf  said,  "  Ugh !  ugh  !  " 
For  whenever  his  father  scowled  and  said, 
"  Ugh  !  ugh  !  "  Leaping  Wolf,  too,  said,  "  Ugh  ! 
ugh !  " 

Even  while  they  were  talking,  wonderful 
things  were  happening  up  in  Canada  across  the 
lake.  For  Champlain,  a  great  French  explorer, 
had  come  from  over  the  sea  and  had  brought  a 
number  of  people  with  him.  Already  these  white 
men  were  living  on  the  St.  Lawrence  River. 

While  the  little  village  was  building,  some  of 
the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  came  to  visit  it. 
Now  these  were  the  very  Indians  that  Leaping 
Wolf's  father  had  called  cowards.  So  when 
they  saw  the  white  men's  guns  they  said, 
"  Come  with  us  and  fight  our  enemies." 

"  Who  are  they  ?  "  Champlain  asked. 

"  They  are  the  Iroquois,  and  they  live  on  the 
other  side  of  the  lake.  We  hate  the  Iroquois, 
for  we  can  never  conquer  them  in  battle." 

"  Perhaps  this  will  be  a  good  way  to  win  the 
friendship  of  these  Indian  neighbors   of  ours," 


LEAPING  WOLF  63 

thought  Champlain.  So  he  promised  to  help 
them  against  the  Iroquois. 

Then  the  Indian  chief  called  all  his  warriors 
together  and  came  to  Champlain's  village. 

"  First  we  must  have  our  war  dance,"  said 
the  chief.  So  the  warriors  went  into  the  forest 
and  spent  the  whole  day  painting  themselves 
and  fastening  feathers  in   their  hair. 

When  it  was  dark  they  built  a  great  fire ;  and 
danced  around  it  all  night  long,  whooping  and 
yelling  and  leaping. 

"  Are  these  savages  mad  ?  "  Champlain  won- 
dered as  he  watched  them.  But  the  Indians 
were  not  mad.  It  was  only  their  way  of  getting 
ready  for  battle. 

It  was  all  very  strange,  and  Champlain  was 
glad  enough  when  morning  came  and  the  Indians 
were  ready  to  set  out. 

After  a  long  march  Champlain  and  the 
Indians  who  were  with  him  met  the  Iroquois. 
At  once  both  tribes  began  to  howl  and  yell. 
This  was  the  Indian  way  of  beginning  battle. 


64  AMERICA'S    STORY 

All  night  long  the  two  Indian  tribes  kept  up 
their  yelling  and  howling ;  but  at  the  same  time 
they  were  busy  getting  ready  for  battle. 

In  the  morning  they  were  to  begin  to  fight. 
Then,  when  all  was  ready,  Champlain  went  out 
and  stood  in  front  of  his  Indian  warriors. 

The  Iroquois  were  speechless  with  terror. 
Who  was  the  white-faced  warrior  ?  Where  did 
he  come  from  ?  And  what  was  that  he  carried 
in  his  hand  ? 

Then  Champlain  raised  his  gun  and  fired. 

Bang !  Bang !  Bang !  and  three  of  the  Iro- 
quois fell  dead. 

For  a  second  the  enemy  stood  staring  at  the 
dead  men.  What  kind  of  an  arrow  was  it  that 
could  kill  like  that !  Then  with  a  great  whoop 
the  Iroquois  turned  and  ran. 

Champlain  ran  after  them  and  fired  his  gun 
again.  Bang  !  Bang !  and  down  went  more  of 
the  flying  Indians !  With  every  shot  from  the 
gun,  the  Indians  yelled  louder  and  ran  faster. 
Many  of  them  were  taken  prisoners ;  and  those 


LEAPING   WOLF  65 

that  reached  their  homes  alive,  talked  for  days 
of  the  white-faced  warrior  and  of  the  wonderful 
arrow  that  he  carried. 

"  It  blazed  fire  !  "  they  said. 

"  And  it  made  a  great  noise." 

"  It  was  very  strange." 
r     Meantime  Champlain's  Indians  were  getting 
ready  to  rejoice  over  their  victory. 

"  What  are  you  going  to  do  ? "  Champlain 
asked. 

"  We  are  going  to  have  our  scalp  dance," 
said  the  Indians. 

Champlain  wondered  what  a  scalp  dance 
could  be  ;  but  he  soon  found  out.  For  again 
the  Indians  went  into  the  forests  to  smear  them- 
selves with  paint  and  to  stick  feathers  in  their 
hair.  At  last  they  were  ready  to  come  out. 
They  carried  drums  and  horns  and  rattles,  and 
each  warrior  whooped  at  the  top  of  his  voice ! 

Then  torches  were  lighted.  A  fire  was  made, 
and  the  warriors  formed  in  a  circle  around  the 

fire. 

s 


66 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


Champlain  watched  the  chief  and  the  war- 
riors as  they  danced  and  shouted  and  swung' 
their  scalp  poles  round  and  round. 

"These   Indians  are   a  strange  people!"  he 


thought. 


When  he  went  back  to  France  he  had 
wonderful  stories  to  tell  of  his  savage  neighbors, 
and  of  the  strange  battle  he  had  fought  with 
Leaping  Wolf's  people  across  the  river. 


A  Tomahawk  and  Scalp  Pole. 


The  Pueblo  of  Taos,  New  Mexico. 


VI.     THE   LITTLE    PUEBLO   PRINCE 


Far  out  on  the  great  Western  plain,  many 
miles  beyond  the  home  of  Prince  Montezuma, 
lived  a  little  Pueblo  Prince. 

He  did  not  live  in  a  wigwam,  or  in  a  hut, 
as  some  Indians  did ;  nor  in  a  palace  like  that 
of  Montezuma. 

The  Pueblo  Indians  built  houses  large 
enough  for  a  whole  tribe  to  live  in.  We  now 
call  those  houses  pueblos,  from  the  Spanish 
word  for    "  village." 


68 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


These  pueblos  were  built  of  stone  and  clay, 
and  were  many  stories  high.  As  you  can  see  in 
the  picture  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  the 
roof  of  one  story  made  a  piazza  for  the  people 
in  the  story  above. 


The  Pueblo  Indian  had  to  climb  into  his 
home  in  a  strange  way.  First,  he  must  climb 
up  to  the  second  story  by  means  of  a  ladder. 
These  ladders  were  made  in  different  ways,  as 
you  see  in  the  picture.  Then  he  must  draw 
the  ladder  up  after  him ;    for  if   he  did  not,  an 


THE   LITTLE   PUEBLO   PRINCE 


69 


enemy  might  climb  into  the  pueblo.  Then 
he  must  go  up  another  ladder  to  another 
story.  Then  up  another  and  another,  until  he 
reached  the  piazza  above  his  own  home.  By 
still  another  ladder,  he  must  go  down  through 


a  trap-door  in  his  own  roof ;  and  then  at  last  he 
was  in  his  house.  Here  is  a  picture  of  the 
roof,  showing  the  trap-door  and  the  end  of  a 
ladder  sticking  out  of  it.  This  was  not  an 
easy  way  to  get  into  one's  home.  The  Pueblo 
Indians  had  found  it,  however,  a  very  safe  way 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


to  live ;  and  in  those 
days  they  thought  of 
safety  first  of  all. 

The  chimneys,  also, 
of  these  houses  were 
very  odd.  They  looked 
like  towers,  for  they  were 
made  of  one  or  more 
bottomless  jars,  set  one 
upon  another.  These 
jars  were  fastened 
firmly  together  with 
clay,  and  often  were 
handsomely  decorated. 
This  picture  is  from  a 
real  Pueblo  chimney. 

In  such  a  home, 
then,  this  little  Pueblo 
Prince  was  born,  —  a 
little  brown,  black-eyed, 
black-haired  Pueblo 
baby. 


THE    LITTLE    PUEBLO    PRINCE  71 

Proud  indeed  was  the  Pueblo  King  when  he 
was  told  that  a  little  Prince  was  born ;  and 
away  he  hurried  to  tell  the  glad  news  to  his 
good  old  mother. 

Then  the  King's  mother  hurried  to  the 
home  of  the  new  little  Prince.  She  brought 
a  nice  soft  blanket  to  wrap  around  the  baby. 
But  first  he  must  be  bathed  in  a  big  bowl  of 
warm  water  in  which  yucca  root  had  been 
boiled. 

Next  she  brought  a  pan  of  soft,  warm,  moist 
ashes,  and  pasted  the  baby  with  ashes  from 
head  to  foot.  She  took  great  pains  to  leave 
a  thick  paste  on  the  baby's  face ;  for  this,  she 
said,  would  give  him  a  beautiful  complexion 
by  and  by. 

A  bed  of  warm  sand  had  been  made  for  the 
baby.  On  this  his  grandmother  laid  the  Prince, 
and  covered  him  over  with  the  soft  blanket  that 
she  had  brought. 

Every  morning  for  ten  days,  the  little  Prince 
was   bathed   in  the  juice  of  the  yucca  root  and 


72  AMERICA'S   STORY 

powdered  with  ashes,  and  laid  in  the  warm  sand 
to  sleep. 

On  the  morning  of  the  tenth  day  a  change 
took  place  in  the  Prince's  life.  After  he  had 
been  bathed  and  powdered,  his  grandmother 
carried  him  down  the  ladders  of  the  pueblo,  out 
upon  the  plain.  Here  his  face  was  turned 
toward  the  rising  sun.  For  these  Pueblo  people 
were  sun-worshippers,  and  they  took  great  care 
that  every  Pueblo  baby  should  behold  the  sun 
the  very  first  time  he  was  taken  out  of  the 
house. 

After  the  prayers  were  said,  and  the  sun  had 
smiled  down  upon  the  Prince,  he  was  taken  back 
into  the  house.  He  was  then  bathed  in  yucca- 
root  water ;  but  never  again  was  he  to  sleep  in 
the  little  sand-bed.  A  cradle  was  ready  for  him 
now,  —  a  nice  little  cradle  with  a  hood-like  top  to 
shield  the  baby's  head  from  the  wind. 

The  parents  thought  it  was  a  great  day  when 
the  Pueblo  baby  was  placed  in  his  cradle.  But 
the  baby  would  rather  have   been  left  to  sleep 


THE   LITTLE   PUEBLO   PRINCE  73 

away  his  days  and  nights  in  the  sand-bed. 
Now  his  little  arms  and  legs  were  straightened 
out  and  bound  round  and  round  and  strapped  to 
the  cradle.  He  could  move  neither  hand  nor 
foot ;  and  there  he  must  lie  for  days  and  weeks. 
Indeed  he  must  lie  there  until  he  was  able  to 
creep  or  walk  about  and  take  care  of  himself. 

After  that  he  was  turned  out  to  play  with 
the  other  Pueblo  children  on  the  piazzas  or  on 
the  plain  round  about  the  pueblo. 

For  a  time  the  little  Pueblo  Prince's  life  was 
quite  like  the  life  of  any  happy  little  Indian  boy. 
But  by  and  by  something  remarkable  happened 
to  him. 

A  Pueblo  priest  came  to  the  door  of  the 
house  and  said  to  the  Prince's  mother,  "  What 
is  the  name  of  this  young  Prince?" 

"  He  has  no  name,"  the  mother  replied. 
"  Give  him,  O  priest,  a  name,  and  pray  that  the 
sun  may  bless  him  all  the  days  of  his  life." 

Then  the  priest  made  ready  for  a  grand 
ceremony.     He  went   into   the  great  square  of 


74  AMERICA'S    STORY 

the  village  and  sprinkled  sacred  meal  and  offered 
up  prayers  to  the  sun.  At  one  side  of  the 
square  he  sprinkled  yellow  meal,  at  another 
white  meal,  at  another  red  meal;  and  at  an- 
other blue  meal.  In  the  centre  of  the.  square  he 
sprinkled  black  meal  and  meal  of   all  colors. 

Then  the  godfather  of  the  little  Prince 
came  into  the  square ;  and  with  him  were  the 
godfathers  of  all  the  other  little  boys  of  the 
Prince's  age.  These  godfathers  carried  the  boys 
on  their  backs,  wrapped  in  tanned  buffalo  hides. 
They  passed  before  the  line  of  priests,  and  as 
they  passed,  each  priest  gave  each  child  a  sharp 
blow  with  a  yucca  switch.  Now  the  boys 
might  show  how  brave  they  were,  and  how  well 
they  could  bear  pain. 

Next,  eagle's-feathers  were  placed  in  the 
boy's  scalp-locks,  and  they  knelt  in  front  of  their 
godfathers.  Then  with  a  loud  cry  the  priests 
ran  by  the  boys,  and  each  priest  gave  each 
boy  four  more  sharp  blows  with  the  yucca 
switches. 


THE    LITTLE    PUEBLO    PRINCE  75 

Of  course  the  yucca  switches  tingled,  but  no 
Pueblo  Prince  would  cry  out,  no  matter  how 
badly  he  was  hurt.  His  godfather  would  be 
ashamed  of  him  if  he  did ;  and  the  whole  tribe 
would  call  him  a  coward. 

While  this  little  Prince  and  his  playfellows 
were  growing  up,  the  Spaniards  were  making 
plans  to  march  into  the  Pueblo  country. 

"  We  are  told  that  there  are  seven  wonder- 
ful cities  on  the  great  plain,"  the  Spaniards 
said.     "  Let  us  go  and  find  them." 

So  one  day  Coronado,  a  Spanish  general, 
set  out  with  a  fine  army  of  Spaniards  to  find 
these  seven  cities.  For  days  and  days  they 
marched,  till  at  last  they  came  upon  the  very 
pueblo  in  which  this  little  Prince  lived.  The 
boys  were  out  upon  the  plain  playing  at  battle, 
and  were  "  making  believe  "  shoot  each  other 
with  their  arrows. 

Suddenly  the  little  Prince  saw  something 
away  out  on  the  plain. 

"What  is  that?"  he  cried;   and  all  the  Pueblo 


76  AMERICA'S   STORY 

boys  stopped  playing  and  looked  in  the  direc- 
tion the  Prince  was  looking. 

First,  they  saw  something  which  looked  like 
a  great  cloud  on  the  horizon.  Then  it  began  to 
glisten  in  the  sunlight ;  and  at  last  the  boys 
could  see  the  bright  colors  of  the  Spanish 
uniform. 

"  It  is  an  enemy!  "  shouted  the  Prince.  And 
away  the  boys  sped  toward  the  pueblo,  and  up 
the  ladders  to  their  homes. 

"  Enemy !  enemy  !  "  cried  the  boys  ;  and  the 
Pueblo  fathers  came  out  from  the  trap-doors  to 
see  what  it  was. 

"  Enemy  !  enemy !  "  and  the  boys  pointed  to 
the  glittering  soldiers. 

Then  the  pueblo  echoed  from  story  to  story 
with  the  Pueblo  war-cry.  Every  warrior  got 
ready  his  arrow  and  his  tomahawk.  There  were 
stones  already  heaped  up  on  the  piazzas  ready 
to  throw  down  upon  any  enemy  who  should 
attack  the  pueblo. 

Meantime   Coronado   and  his    soldiers  were 


THE   LITTLE    PUEBLO    PRINCE  77 

coming  nearer  and  nearer.  The  Pueblo  In- 
dians could  now  see  that  these  men  were  not 
like  any  enemy  that  had  ever  come  upon 
the  village   before. 

Then,  too,  the  Spaniards  rode  upon  horses, 
and  the  Pueblo  Indians  had  never  seen  horses. 
They  had  never  seen  a  warrior  mounted  upon 
an  animal  of  any  kind,  and  it  was  no  wonder 
that  the  horses  terrified  them  more  even  than 
the  Spaniards  did. 

"This  must  be  one  of  the  seven  cities," 
Coronado  said.  He  called  a  halt,  and  he  and 
his  men  examined  the  strange  building  before 
them. 

"The  people  have  seen  us  coming,"  said 
Coronado;  "for  there  they  are,  hundreds  of 
them,  and  they  stand  ready  for  an  attack." 

The  soldiers  rode  straight  up  to  the  walls 
of  the  pueblo  and  fired  their  guns  at  the 
warriors.  The  warriors  poured  down  their  ar- 
rows and  stones ;  but  they  could  not  hold  out 
against  the  Spanish  gunpowder  and  shot. 


78  AMERICA'S    STORY 

The  Spaniards  soon  scaled  the  walls  and 
stood  face  to  face  with  the  terror-stricken 
Indians. 

"  Surrender  your  city,"  was  Coronado's  order 
to  the  King  of  the  pueblo.  There  was  noth- 
ing for  the  poor  King  to  do  but  to  surrender. 

Then  the  Spaniards  feasted  upon  the  corn 
that  they  found  in  the  pueblo.  In  a  few  days 
they  marched  away,  taking  with  them  the  little 
Prince  and  some  of  his  playmates. 

"  These  are  fine  boys,"  said  Coronado.  "  We 
will  teach  them  to  speak  our  language ;  then 
they  will  be  a  great  help  to  us.  They  may 
know  where  we  can  find  gold." 

By  and  by  the  Spaniards  saw  another  pueblo 
in  the  distance.  "  Let  us  hope  this  will  be  a 
rich  city !  "  Coronado  said. 

The  Inidans  had  seen  the  Spaniards  coming, 
and  by  the  time  they  reached  the  pueblo,  were 
ready  to  fight.  But  Coronado  soon  took  their 
city  and  marched  on  again. 

In  some  parts  of  the  country  there  were  high 


THE    LITTLE    PUEBLO    PRINCE  79 

cliffs.  In  these  cliffs  there  were  caves,  and 
some  of  the  Indians  used  these  caves  for  homes. 

They  first  made  their  homes  among  the  cliffs 
to  escape  from  their  enemies.  Then  they  liked 
their  lofty  houses  so  well  that  they  went  on 
living  there,  and  would  never  go  down  into  the 
plain  except  to  hunt  and  fish. 

It  is  said  that  often  a  baby  girl  born  in 
one  of  these  cave  homes  would  grow  old  and 
die  without  ever  going  down  into  the  plain. 
But  a  warrior  could  not  stay  in  a  cave  all  his 
life ;  for  he  must  bring  food  to   his  family. 

It  was  not  easy  to  climb  up  and  down  the 
cliffs ;  but  the  cave-dweller  had  learned  to  make 
his  way  very  well  by  means  of  notches  cut  into 
the  rock.  In  the  picture  on  the  next  page  a 
cave  dweller  is  shown  making  his  way  up  to 
his  home. 

To  one  of  these  cliff  homes,  Coronado  came. 

"Go  and  tell  them  to  surrender  to  Spain!" 
said  Coronado  to  the  little  Prince.  The  Prince 
gave  the  cave-dwellers  Coronado's  message. 


8o 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


"We  will  fight!" 
was  the  answer  they 
sent    back. 

Now  Coronado 
and  his  men  were 
nearly  starved.  They 
had  no  more  food,  and 
could  hardly  drag 
themselves  along. 

"We  must  take 
this  city,"  Coronado 
said.  "  It  is  stored 
with  corn,  and  we  must 
have  it." 

Now  there  was 
only  a  stone  stairway 
leading  up  the  cliff, 
and  it  seemed  a  hope- 
less task  to  climb  it. 
But  the  Spaniards 
were  starving,  and  they 
dared  try  anything. 


THE   LITTLE    PUEBLO    PRINCE  81 

So  up  this  staircase  they  charged,  and  again 
the  horses  and  the  powder  so  frightened  the 
Indians  that  they  soon  begged  for  mercy. 

The  cave-dwellers  were  driven  out  from 
their  homes,  and  the  Spaniards  entered.  For 
days  they  rested  and , feasted. 

One  day  the  Prince  told  Coronado  of  a  great 
city  in  the  North.  "  It  is  greater  than  any 
pueblo,  and  the  people  are  very  rich,"  he  said. 
"  The  chief  of  this  city  wears  a  robe  of  gold. 
There  is  a  river  six  miles  wide,  and  the  people 
have  gold  canoes  with  silver  oars." 

"  Let  us  hurry  on,"  the  Spaniards  said. 

For  weeks  they  marched.  It  was  a  hard 
journey,  but  in  time  the  place  was  reached. 
Alas,  how  bitter  was  Coronado's  disappoint- 
ment !  The  city  was  a  small  village  of  wooden 
huts.      The    river   was   a    muddy    stream,    and 

there  were  only  a  few  little  canoes  upon  it. 

» 

Coronado  was  discouraged,  and  angry  too. 
"  Why  did  you  bring  us  to  such  a  village  as 
this  ? "  he  asked  the  Pueblo  Prince. 

6 


82  AMERICA'S    STORY 

The  Prince  and  his  comrades  began  to  leap 
and  dance.  "  We  knew  there  was  no  gold ! " 
they   cried.     "We    knew    there   was  no  river!" 

Coronado  seized  the  Prince  by  his  scalp- 
lock.     "  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  he  cried. 

"  We  hoped  you  would  starve  in  crossing  the 
desert.     We  hoped  the  journey  would  kill  you  !  " 

The  Prince  shouted  and  danced  to  show 
how  glad  he  was.  He  was  so  happy  to  pay 
the  Spaniards  back  for  attacking  his  people. 

Coronado  had  now  only  a  hundred  poor, 
worn  out,  half-starved  men  ;  and  as  he  looked 
at  them  he  pitied  them. 

"  Let  us  go  home,"  they  said,  "  before  we 
all  starve."     So  they  went  back  to   Mexico. 

These  soldiers  had  found  wonderful  cities,  to 
be  sure.  But  they  had  hoped  to  find  gold ;  and 
to  them,  such  cities  were  not  worth  finding. 

"  That  Prince  was  brave,"  Coronado  used  to 
say.  And  as  long  as  they  lived,  the  soldiers 
never  forgot  the  little    Pueblo  Prince. 


VII.    VIRGINIA   DARE 

While  the  French  and  the  Spanish  were  ex- 
ploring, the  English  also  were  coming  over  to 
this  new  country.  They  had  sent  ships  to  the 
coast  of  Virginia,  and   had  given  it  its  name. 

They  said,  "  If  this  new  country  is  so  beau- 
tiful, let  us  make  new  homes  for  our  people 
there." 

So  one  day  a  ship  with  a  number  of  Eng- 
lish men,  women,  and  children  on  board  started 
out  from  England.  It  was  bound  for  Virginia ; 
and  glad  enough  were  the  people  when  the 
ship  drew  near  the  shore  and  they  could  see 
the  grass  and   the  trees. 

"  It  is  a  beautiful  shore,"  said  John  White, 
the  leader  of  the  band  of   colonists. 

As  soon  as  they  could,  the  colonists  set  to 
work  to  make  homes  for  themselves  in  the 
new  country.     The  climate  was  warm  and  there 


84  AMERICA'S    STORY 

was  plenty  of  lumber  with  which  to  build.  The 
soil,  too,  was  very  rich,  and  they  soon  had  fine 
fields  of  corn  and  potatoes. 

One  day  a  little  baby  girl  was  born — the 
first  English  child  born  in  America.  How 
proud  the  father  and  mother  were ! 

"  She  is  the  baby  of  the  colony,"  said  her 
grandfather,  John  White.  "Let  us  name  her 
Virginia." 

The  little  colonial  baby  was  named  Vir- 
ginia, and  all  the  people  in  the  colony  loved  her 
and  helped  to  take  care  of  her  in  her  rough 
forest   home. 

By  and  by,  when  the  colony  was  well  settled, 
Mr.  White  said :  "  I  will  go  back  to  England  for 
more  supplies.  So  take  good  care  of  baby  Vir- 
ginia while  I  am  gone.  Do  not  leave  this  place 
unless  you  find  that  you  cannot  hold  it  against 
the  Indians.  But  if  you  have  to  go  away,  leave 
a  sign  for  me.  Cut  the  name  of  the  place  to 
which  you  go  on  one  of  the  trees  near  the 
shore." 


VIRGINIA   DARE  85 

Then  John  White  sailed  away.  "  Keep  the 
colony  together !  Take  care  of  the  baby  !  "  he 
shouted  as  the  ship  sailed  out  of  the  harbor. 

"  We  will  try! "  the  brave  men  shouted  back. 

It  was  a  long  journey.  Then,  too,  England 
was  very  busy  with  a  war  when  John  White 
reached  there,  and  no  ship  could  be  spared  to 
take   him  back. 

For  four  long  years  John  White  waited ; 
but  at  last  a  ship  was  given  to  him,  and  he 
set  sail  for  his  colony. 

As  he  neared  the  Virginia  coast,  he  often 
wondered  if  the  men  would  be  there  to  welcome 
him.  "  The  baby  Virginia  is  now  four  years 
old,"  he  said  to  himself.  He  tried  to  think  how 
she  would  look. 

Sometimes  the  thought  came  to  him  that  she 
might  not  be  alive ;  for  a  colony  was  a  hard 
place  for  a  little  baby  to  live  in.  The  houses 
were  not  always  warm,  and  there  was  not  al- 
ways food  enough  for  the  people.  Then,  too, 
the  Indians  were  dangerous  neighbors. 


86  AMERICA'S    STORY 

"  I  hope  nothing  has  happened  to  the  baby, 
or  to  the  colony,"  White  kept  saying  to  himself. 

But  now  the  vessel  was  coming  into  the 
harbor.  The  boats  were  lowered,  and  soon  the 
sailors  would  be  on  land  again. 

But  why  did  no  one  come  down  to  the 
shore  to  meet  them  ?  Were  the  colonists  gone  ? 
Where  were  the  little  houses  that  he  had  left 
standing  near  the  shore? 

"  Surely,  if  they  have  gone  away,  they  have 
left  some  word  ! "  said  John  White.  As  soon 
as  he  landed  he  began  to  search  for  a  tree  that 
should  tell  him  where  the  colonists  had  gone. 

At  last  he  found  the  letters  of  the  word 
Croatoan  cut  in  the  bark  of  a  tree. 

Now  Croatoan  was  the  name  of  an  Indian 
tribe  not  far  away.  So  he  said,  "  They  have 
gone  to  the  Croatoans  ! "  But  the  Croatoans 
said  that  they  knew  nothing  of  the  colonists. 

"  Did  they  not  come  to  you  ? "  Mr.  White 
asked.  "  I  will  give  you  presents  if  you  will 
tell  me  what  has   become  of  my  people." 


VIRGINIA   DARE 


87 


But    the    Indians    would    tell    him    nothing. 
Then  away  he  hurried   to  the  other   tribes ; 


A  Palisaded  Village  of  Virginia  Indians. 

After  cut  in  Hariot's  Virginia. 

but  they  could  not  tell  him  where  his  people 
had  gone.  At  last  he  gave  up  all  hope,  and 
went  back  to  the  ship.     He  had  tried  his  best, 


88  AMERICA'S   STORY 

but  could  learn  nothing.  His  friends  were  lost, 
the  baby  Virginia  was  lost,  and  all  the  colonists 
were  lost. 

Years  after,  other  white  men  went  to  the 
same  place  to  found  another  colony.  They,  too, 
tried  to  find  out  something  about  the  lost 
colonists.  But  no  one  was  able  to  learn  what 
happened  to  them. 

There  is  little  doubt,  however,  that  the 
Indians  knew  what  happened  to  the  colonists. 
Some  think  that  the  baby  Virginia  grew  up  in 
the  Indian  village  like  a  little  pappoose.  But 
we  do  not  know,  and  we  never  shall  know,  the 
true  story  of  poor  little  Virginia  Dare. 


/y  [  /. 


Plymouth  Harbor  in  Midwinter  300  Years  Ago. 
VIII.     BETTY   ALDEN 

By  and  by  more  colonists  came  over  to  Virginia. 
These  colonists  had  better  success  ;  and  soon 
there  was  a  pretty  little  village  with  many  fine 
farms  round   about  it. 

Then  other  English  people  thought  that  they 
would  like  to  found  a  colony  in  America.  So 
one  day  another  ship,  the  "  Mayflower,"  started 
out  from  England.     For  days  and  days  it  sailed, 


9Q  AMERICA'S   STORY 

and   by  and  by  a   storm   drove   it  in  upon   the 
coast  of  Massachusetts. 

It  was  mid-winter,  and  ice  and  snow  were 
piled  up  high  along  the  coast.  The  picture  at 
the  top  of  the  chapter  shows  what  the  shore 
looked  like  at  that  time.  Now  it  is  covered  with 
houses  and  churches  and  big  buildings. 

"Shall  we  land   here?"  said   the  captain. 

"  It  is  God's  will,"  said  the  people. 

Then  the  boats  were  lowered  in  Plymouth 
Bay,  and  the  people  sprang  out  upon  the  rock 
we  now  call   Plymouth   Rock. 

These  colonists  set  to  work  at  once  to 
build  their  log  houses,  and  soon  they  had  a 
comfortable  little  village. 

One  day  an  Indian  walked  into  the  village. 

He  stared  at  the  white  men,  and  the  white 
men    stared   at  him. 

"  The  white  men's  hats  are  very  strange," 
the   Indian  thought. 

"  The  Indian's  feathers  are  very  strange,"  the 
white  men  thought. 


BETTY   ALDEN  91 

By  and  by  the  Indian  said,  "  Welcome,  Eng- 
lishmen ! "  To  be  sure,  he  said  these  words  in 
a  very  strange  way,  but  the  colonists  understood. 
They  were  glad  enough  to  find  the  Indian  so 
friendly. 

They  invited  him  into  their  homes ;  they 
gave  him  presents  ;  and  by  and  by  they  sent 
him  to  bring  his  chief. 

The  chief  came,  and  the  white  men  and  the 
chief  talked  together  a  long  time.  They  agreed 
that  there  should  be  no  fighting  between 
them ;  and  as  long  as  this  chief  lived  there 
was  no  trouble  with  the  Indians. 

One  day  a  little  baby  girl  was  born  in  this 
Plymouth  colony.  Her  name  was  Betty  Alden, 
and  she  grew  to  be  the  roundest-faced,  reddest- 
cheeked,  happiest  little  girl  that  ever  was. 

Betty  was  less  than  a  week  old  when  she 
was  taken  to  the  meeting-house  to  be  christened. 
Colonial  babies  were  always  taken  to  the  meet- 
ing-houses to  be  christened  on  their  first  Sunday, 
no  matter  what  the  weather  was. 


92 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


After  this  first  Sunday,  Betty  did  not  go  to 
the  meeting-house  for  some  time.  Then  a  little 
cage  was  made  for  her  to  sit  in,  while  her  father 

Some- 


and  mother  listened  to  the  long  sermon 


The  Kind  of  Cradle  that  Betty  was  Rocked  in. 


times  Betty  cried,  and  it  was  often  so  cold  that 
her  tears  froze  upon  her  little  cheeks.  Betty's 
mother  was  sorry  for  her  baby,  but  it  could  not 
be  helped.     There  was  no  way  to  heat  the  meet- 


BETTY   ALDEN 


93 


ing-houses,  and  it  was  not  the  custom  for  babies 
to  sit  with  their  mothers  during  sermon-time. 

She  was  rocked  in  a  cradle  made  just  like 
the  one  you  see  in  the 
picture.  When  she 
grew  older  she  sat  up 
to  the  table  in  a  chair 
just  likethis  one.  Then 
she  was  taught  to  walk 
in  a  funny  little  go-cart 
like  that  shown  on  the 
next  page.  And  the 
cradle,  the  chair,  and 
the  go-cart  have  been 
copied  for  this  book 
from  old  ones  which 
have  been  kept  all  these 
hundreds  of  years. 

Now,  the  people  in  this  English  colony  were 
very  strict.  They  thought  it  wicked  to  laugh 
very  much,  and  they  tried  to  bring  up  the  chil- 
dren to  be   quiet   and    sober  like    their  fathers 


The  Kind  of  Chair  that  Betty 
sat  IN. 


94 


AMERICA'S    STORY 


and    mothers.     But  little  Betty  could  not  keep 
quiet,  no  matter  how  hard  she  tried. 

"  Betty  Alden    is    a   sad    romp,"  the    people 
would  often  say.     Then  she  would  try  to  behave 


How  Betty  learned  to  Walk. 

as  the  people  thought  she  should;  but  I  am  afraid 
that  she  did  not  succeed  very  well. 

Betty  went  to  the  village  school.  It  was 
an  odd  little  school,  and  it  was  held  in  the 
big  kitchen  of  one  of  the  houses. 


BETTY   ALDEN  95 

She    learned  to  read   from  the  Bible  which 
her  father  had  brought  from  England.     A  long 


j  T/f»e  tuts  down  all 
Both  great  and  final!. 


ITriiij&'jbeauteoiH  W  ifc 
Made  David  leek  his 
Life 


Whaht  in  the  Sea 
God's  Voice  obey, 

Xerxes  the  great  did 
die, 


3S.    And  famuli  you  &  I, 


Touib  forward  Hips 
Death  fooneft  -nip*. 

Zacbcus  he 

Did  cljmb  tht  Tree 

Hrt  Lord  to  fee, 


A  Page  from  the  Oldest  Copy  of  "  The  New  England  Primer. '; 
From  Paul  Leicester  Ford's  book,  by  permission  of  Dodd,  Mead  &  Co. 

time  after,  when  Betty  was  an  old,  old  lady,  a 
reading-book  was  printed  in  the  colony.  It  was 
called  "  The  New  England  Primer." 


96  AMERICA'S    STORY 

You  may  think  that  these  pages  are  not 
very  beautiful,  but  Betty's  grandchildren  thought 
that  their  primer  was  the  most  beautiful  book 
ever  printed.  Very  soon  they  learned  to  read  it 
through,  and  with  their  eyes  shut  too. 

But  if  Betty  had  no  reading-book  in  her 
school  days,  she  had  an  old  spelling-book.  This 
she  studied  very  faithfully,  and  she  was  taught 
also  to  make  a  needlework  sampler. 

Betty  thought  this  sampler  was  very  beauti- 
ful. When  it  was  done,  her  mother  put  it  in  a 
frame  and  hung  it  on  the  wall. 

Then  the  people  said,  "  Perhaps  Betty  will 
grow  to  be  a  sober,  quiet  child,  after  all.  See 
how  nicely  she   has   made  her  sampler." 

There  were  no  steel  pens  in  Betty's  school 
days.  Each  child  brought  a  goose-feather  to 
school,  and  the  teacher  cut  this  feather  so  that 
it  was  pointed  like  a  pen.  This  was  called  a 
quill,  and  Betty  wrote  the  copies  her  teacher 
made  for  her  with  a  quill  like  the  one  you  see 
in  the  boy's  hand  in  the  colored  picture. 


BETTY   ALDEN  97 

Sometimes  Betty's  schoolmates  did  not  do 
right.  But  the  teacher  had  ways  of  teaching 
them  to  behave  properly.  When  they  did  not 
learn  their  catechisms,  there  were  dunce  stools 
for  them  to  sit  upon.  There  were  dunce  caps, 
too,  which  they  must  wear  upon  their  heads 
until  the  lessons  were  learned. 

Sometimes  the  teacher  put  pinchers  on  the 
idle  children's  ears,  and  sometimes  rhubarb  was 
put  on  their  tongues.  These  punishments,  the 
teacher  said,  helped  the  children  to  learn. 

Whether  or  not  any  of  these  things  happened 
to  Betty,  I  do  not  know.  Very  likely  not ;  for 
Betty  was  not  an   idle  child. 

"A  good  child,  a  good  child  !  "  the  kind  old 
parson  used  to  say.  "  Betty  is  a  good  child,  but 
a  little  too  frolicsome." 

Once  Betty  was  ill,  but  she  got  well  as  soon 
as  she  could.  She  hoped  she  should  never  be 
ill  again ;  for  the  doctor  gave  her  some  very 
bad-tasting  medicine,  made  of  senna  and  snails 
and  earth-worms. 

7 


98  AMERICA'S    STORY 

Betty  was  seldom  allowed  to  eat  candy; 
indeed,  candy  was  very  rare  in  those  days.  This 
is  the  story  Betty's  father  always  told  her  when 
she  teased  for  candy:  "  Once  a  ship  came  over 
from  England  with  a  great  deal  of  candy  on 
board.  The  candy  was  sold  in  Boston,  but  it 
made  the  children  so  ill  that  the  next  time 
the  ship  came  over  it  brought  only  senna  and 
rhubarb  for  the  sick  children." 

There  is  a  story,  but  it  may  not  be  really 
true,  that  there  was  in  a  neighboring  colony 
another  happy,  frolicsome  little  girl,  very  like 
Betty  Alden.  This  little  girl's  name  was 
Ruth.  Ruth  had  to  sit  very  still  and  listen  to 
sermons  that  were  hours  long,  and  often  the 
poor  little  girl  fell  asleep.  Once,  so  the  story 
said,  Ruth  laughed  aloud  in  the  middle  of  the 
sermon.  The  preacher  stopped  and  looked  at 
her.  The  tithing-man  came  and  tapped  her  on 
the  head  with  his  long  pole,  and  Ruth's  mother 
nearly  fainted  away,  she  was  so  ashamed. 

"  Alas,  alas  !  "  said  Ruth's  mother,  "  I  shall 


BETTY   ALDEN 


99 


never  hold  up  my  head  again.     To  think  that  a 
child  of  mine  should  laugh  in  church  ! " 

When   Ruth   went    home   from    church    her 
father  took  her  upon  his  knee  to  scold  her.     But 


The  First  Church  in  New  England. 
Built  in  Salem,  Mass.,  in  1632. 

what  do  you    suppose   happened  ?     Poor,   tired 
Ruth  fell  asleep,  while  her  father  was  talking. 

"  Perhaps  it  is  rather  hard  for  a  little  girl 
to  sit  still  so  long,"  Ruth's  father  thought.  So 
when  Ruth  awoke,  he  said  to  her:    "  Ruth,  you 


IOO 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


may  wear  these  gold  beads  every  Sabbath  that 
you  are  a  good  girl  in  church." 

How  beautiful  the. beads  were!     Ruth  wore 


Old  House  in  Salem,  Mass. 
Built  in  the  time  of  Betty  Alden  and  Ruth. 

them  the  very  next  Sabbath.  Sometimes  Ruth 
grew  tired,  and  felt  like  laughing  again  in 
sermon-time.  But  when  she  looked  down  at  her 
beautiful  gold  beads,  the  laugh  would  go  away. 


IX. 

HANS 

AND 

KATRINA 


Not  so  very  far  from  Betty  and  Ruth  lived  two 
little  children,  Katrina  and  Hans  Van  Tassel. 

Now  Hans  and  Katrina  were  Dutch,  and 
they  came  from  Holland  with  their  father  and 
mother  to  join  a  Dutch  colony  in  the  new 
country. 

The  Dutch  were  a  happy,  jolly  people. 
They  liked  to  have  good  times,  and  they  liked 
to  see  their  children  have  good  times.  Hans 
and  Katrina  were  not  expected  to  be  sober  and 
quiet,    as    Betty   and    Ruth    were.      They   were 


102 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


allowed  to  romp  and 
play  and  dance.  Some- 
times they  were  even 
allowed  to  go  to  the 
grown-up  folks'  par- 
ties. Often  they  were 
allowed  to  sit  up  after 
dark  and  listen  to  the 
stories  that  their  father 
and  mother  liked  to 
tell.  No  story  did 
Hans  and  Katrina 
like  so  well  as  the 
story  of  old  Rip  Van 
Winkle,  who  went  to 
sleep  and  slept  for 
twenty  years  up  in  the 
Kaatskill  mountains. 

There  is  a  funny 
picture-book  with  the 
story  of  Rip  Van 
Winkle  in  it.     It  has 


HANS   AND    KATRINA 


103 


the  picture  of  the  little  short  elves  who  made 
signs  to  Rip  Van  Winkle,  but  who  could  not 
speak  to  him. 


The  Elves. 


There  is  the  picture  of  Rip  carrying  the 
cask  up  the  mountain  side,  and  another  picture 
of  the  elves  rolling  their  ninepins. 

When  Ruth  and  Betty  heard  the  rolling  in 


104  AMERICA'S   STORY 

the  skies  they  called  it  thunder;  but  Hans  and 
Katrina  knew  better.  They  knew  it  was  the 
elves  still  rolling  their  ninepins,  just  as  they 
rolled  them  so  long  ago. 

But  Hans  and  Katrina  were  not  always  romp- 
ing and  telling  stories.  They  were  very  busy 
little  folks,  for  all  they  were  so  jolly.  Katrina 
could  sew  and  knit,  and  Hans  could  cut  wood 
and  drive  the  cows  as  well  as  any  one  could. 

You  should  have  seen  Katrina  when  she  was 
dressed  for  a  party.  She  wore  a  funny  little 
cap,  and  tied  her  hair  in  a  hard  knot  behind. 
She  wore  a  kerchief  round  her  neck,  and  her 
skirts  were  full  and  stiff.  Indeed,  she  wore  so 
many  of  these  skirts  that  they  stood  out  like 
a  Dutch  cheese. 

Hans  wore  a  tight  little  jacket,  and  so  many 
pairs  of  trousers,  one  over  another,  that  he 
looked  quite  like  the  pictures  of  the  greedy  boy 
in  the  story-books. 

Hans  and  Katrina  went  to  school,  just  as 
Ruth  and  Betty  did.     The  schools  would  seem 


HANS   AND   KATRINA  105 

very  odd  to  us  now,  but  there  were  no  lazy 
children  in  them,  you  may  be  sure.  The  Dutch 
teacher  always  carried  a  birch  rod  in  his  hand ; 
and  any  child  who  came  to  school  to  play  was 
sure  to  feel  that  rod. 

It  may  be  that  these  jolly  little  Dutch  chil- 
dren were  more  mischievous  in  school  than  the 
sober  little  English  children  were.  We  are  not 
sure;  but  both  English  and  Dutch  children 
had  good  times  in  their  schools  and  with  their 
teachers, — there  is  no  doubt  of  that. 

Both  the  Dutch  and  the  English  mothers 
liked  to  scrub  and  clean  their  houses.  Their 
windows  were  rubbed  until  they  shone  like 
looking-glasses;  and  the  floors  were  as  white 
and  clean  as  tables.  These  floors  were  covered 
with  white  sand.  The  housekeepers  drew  pretty 
patterns  in  this  sand;  for  this  was  the  only 
kind  of  carpet  that  they  had. 

The  English  houses  were  hip-roofed,  but  the 
Dutch  houses  were  gable-roofed.  The  Dutch 
often    built    little    stoops  on  the    front  of   their 


io6 


AMERICA'S   STORY 


houses;  for  they  liked  to  sit  on  these  stoops 
in  the  evening  and  talk  with  the  people  who 
passed  by. 

New  Year's  Day  was  a  holiday  with  Hans 
and    Katrina.       Everybody   made  calls    on  that 


A  Dutch  House  in  Hans'  and  Katrina's  Time. 


day,  and    there    were    always    parties    on    New 
Year's  evening. 

Hans  and  Katrina  were  sure  to  have  a  Merry 
Christmas,  for  it  was  the  Dutch  who  set  the 
fashion  of  hanging  the  Christmas  stockings 
around  the  fireplace.     And   Santa  Claus  never 


HANS   AND    KATRINA 


107 


forgot  to  bring  Christmas  presents  to  the  Dutch 
children. 

They  had  good  times  at  Easter,  too ;  for  on 
that  day  they  sent  each  other  presents  of  colored 
eggs  tied  with  bright  ribbons. 

The  faces  of  Hans  and  Katrina  were  fat  and 
round  and  rosy.  Perhaps  it  was  because  they 
had  such  good  times.  Their  laugh,  too,  was 
honest  and  cheery.  Perhaps  it  was  because 
they  were  such  honest,  cheery  little  people  them- 
selves. No  children  in  all  the  land  were  hap- 
pier and  healthier  and  jollier  than  little  Dutch 
Hans  and  Katrina. 


New  York  as  it  was  when  Hans  and  Katrina  were  Children: 
then  it  was  called  new  amsterdam. 


The  House  of  John  Hancock  which  faced  Boston  Common. 


X.     THE   BOSTON   BOYS 


All  this  time  the  colonies  were  growing  larger. 
Every  year  hundreds  of  people  came  over  from 
England,  and  there  were  many  large  towns  up 
and  down  the  coast. 

But  in  upon  all  this  peace  and  success  came 
a  war.  England  had  a  great  debt,  and  she 
thought  the  colonies  should  help  her  pay  it. 

The  colonies  were  willing  to  help  if  England 
would  do  certain  things  for  them  that  they 
thought  she   ought    to  do,     But   England  was 


THE   BOSTON   BOYS  109 

not  willing  to  do  these  things.  Then  came  war 
between  the  mother  country  and  the  colonies, 
—  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  as  it  was  called. 

"Our  soldiers  will  need  warm  stockings  and 
blankets  and  woollen  clothing,"  said  the  colonial 
women.  So  they  set  to  work  to  spin  yarn 
and  weave  cloth  for  the  soldiers.  The  boys 
and  girls  did  their  share;  and  when  the  soldiers 
came  the  American  people  were  ready  for  them. 

The  English  soldiers  first  made  their  camp 
upon  the  Common  in  the  town  of  Boston. 

"This  is  a  good  place  for  us,"  they  said. 
"We  will  make  the  Boston  people  bring  us 
food ;  and  then,  too,  from  this  Common  we  can 
keep  good  watch  on  the  harbor." 

On  the  Common  there  was  a  fine  pond ;  and 
here  the  Boston  boys  liked  to  skate  and  slide. 

"  We  must  n't  fail  in  spelling  to-morrow, 
boys,"  said  one  boy  as  he  ran  off  down  the 
street.  The  boys  laughed ;  for  they  well  knew 
that  if  they  did  n't  learn  their  lesson  there  would 
be  no  skating  for  them. 


no  AMERICA'S   STORY 

The  next  morning  was  cold  and  clear. 
"  Good  weather  for  the  ice,"  thought  every  boy 
as  he  crept  out  of  bed.  As  soon  as  school  was 
over,  away  the  boys  hurried  to  the  pond. 

But  alas  for  their  plans  for  a  good  hour's 
skating!  The  ice  had  been  broken  everywhere; 
and  it  had  frozen  again  with  a  rough  and  un- 
even surface. 

"Those  British  red-coats  have  done  this," 
cried  the  boys. 

I  am  sure  the  English  soldiers  would  have 
been  terrified  if  they  had  heard  the  threats  those 
Boston  boys  made.  But  there  were  no  redcoats 
in  sight,  and  the  disappointed  boys  went  home. 

A  few  days  later  the  ice  thawed ;  and  there 
came  a  heavy  rain,  followed  by  a  week  of  frost. 

"  Now  we  shall  have  skating,"  the  boys 
said.     And  again  they  watched  the  ice. 

The  red-coats,  too,  watched  the  ice,  and  the 
boys  as  well.  One  night  they  went  again  to 
the  pond  and  broke  the  ice  with  their  heavy 
boot-heels. 


THE   BOSTON   BOYS  in 

"  We  have  nothing  else  to  do,"  they  said ; 
"and  it  is  fun  to  see  the  little  Yankees  angry." 

On  the  next  afternoon  came  the  boys  with 
their  skates,  and  again  they  found  the  ice  broken. 
Then  out  spoke  one  of  the  boys. 

"  They  have  no  right  to  break  our  ice,"  he 
cried.  "  Let  us  go  to  General  Gage,  and  tell 
him  what  his  men  have  done." 

Away  the  boys  ran,  straight  up  to  the 
door  of  the  great   British  general's  house. 

"  Why  do  you  come  here  ? "  asked  the 
general's    servant. 

"  We  came  to  see  General  Gage." 

"  General  Gage  has  no  time  to  talk  with 
boys,"  answered  the  guard. 

"  But  we  must  see  him,"  the  boys  insisted. 

"  What  is  it,  my  lads  ? "  said  the  general, 
who  just   then  came  to   the    door. 

"  We  have  come,"  said  the  leader  of  the 
Boston   boys,  "  to   complain   of  your  soldiers." 

"  What  have  my  soldiers  done  to  you  ? " 
asked  General  Gage. 


ii2  AMERICA'S   STORY 

"  They  do  everything  they  can  to  plague 
us,"  said  the  boy.  "  They  knock  down  our 
snow  forts,  and  now  they  are  breaking  up 
the  ice  on  our  pond.  We  think  it  is  mean  — 
it  is  mean  —  for  soldiers  to  do  things  like  this." 

The  boy's  cheeks  were  red  and  his  eyes 
snapped.  His  small  fists  were  clenched,  and 
very  likely  his  voice  was  rather  shrill  and  high. 

The  guard  laughed.  General  Gage  himself 
smiled  a  little. 

"  You  are  plucky  boys,"  he  said.  "  You 
would  make  good  soldiers.  If  my  soldiers 
trouble   you  again,   let  me   know   at  once." 

Then  the  boys  thanked  the  general,  and 
went    back    to    their    playground. 

"  Even  the  children  breathe  in  liberty  in 
this  land,"  said  General  Gage,  after  the  boys 
were    gone. 

After  a  time  this  war  came  to  an  end. 
The  English  soldiers  went  back  to  England, 
and    the    colonies    were    free. 

"  Now,"   said   the  colonies,  "  we   do    not   be- 


THE   BOSTON   BOYS 


ii3 


long  to  England  any  more.  We  are  the 
American  people.  We  will  call  our  country 
the  United  States.  And  we  must  have  a 
President.     Who  shall   it  be?" 


George  Washington  being  made  President. 


"  George  Washington,"  the  people  cried. 
"  For  he  led  our  troops  on  to  victory." 

And  indeed  it  was  George  Washington 
who  led  the  troops  on  to  victory.  He  de- 
served  the   honor   of   being    President. 


ii4  AMERICA'S   STORY 

The  capital  city  of  America  at  this  time  was 
New  York.  So  to  this  city  George  Washington 
went  to  be  made  first  President  of  the  United 
States. 

There  were  no  railroads ;  so  he  travelled 
in  his  own  coach,  drawn  by  six  beautiful  white 
horses.  There  was  a  coachman  in  a  uniform ; 
the  coach  was  lined  with  velvet,  and  there 
were  flowers  of  gold  on  the  outside. 

The  people  were  very  proud  of  their  new 
President.  As  he  drove  across  the  country, 
they  came  out  from  the  towns  to  meet  him. 
"Hurrah!  Hurrah!  Hurrah!"  they  shouted 
as  the  coach  drew  near.  In  some  towns  the 
people    scattered    flowers    along    the    road. 

Often  Washington  stood  up  in  his  coach 
and  thanked  the  people  for  the  honor  they 
had  given  him.  Then  the  people  cheered 
louder  than  ever,  "Hurrah!  Hurrah!  Hurrah! 
Hurrah  for  the  President  ! " 

At  New  York  City  a  great  ball  was  given 
in    his    honor.       How    fine    Washington     must 


THE   BOSTON    BOYS  115 

have  looked !  He  was  dressed  in  velvet  and 
satin,  for  that  was  the  fashion  of  those  early 
times.  His  knee-breeches  were  of  black  vel- 
vet, and  fastened  at  the  knee  with  very  hand- 
some buckles.  His  stockings  were  of  white 
silk ;  and  he  had  silver  buckles  upon  the 
shoes.  His  waistcoat  was  of  embroidered 
satin,  and  over  this  he  wore  a  rich  coat  of 
velvet.  He  wore  also  a  white  wig,  with  a 
long  tail  hanging  down  behind ;  for  this  was 
the  way  gentlemen  wore  their  hair  in  Wash- 
ington's time. 

It   was    a   great    day   for    New    York.       It 
was    a   great    day    for   the    United    States. 


Colonial  Flag  of  1776. 


An  Old  Matchlock  Gun. 


XI.     THE   ARMY   OF   TWO 

Years  after  the  Revolution,  our  people  had 
another  war  with  England.  This  was  called 
the  War  of  1812,  and  in  it  many  great  battles 
were  fought.  When  the  war  was  over,  there 
was  no  story  the  people  liked  better  to  tell 
than  the  story  of  two  little  girls,  Rebecca  and 
Sarah. 

Rebecca's  father  kept  the  lighthouse,  and 
Sarah  was  Rebecca's  playmate.  One  day 
when  the  children  were  at  play  they  saw  an 
English   ship  coming  into  the  harbor. 

Now  Rebecca's  father  had  gone  across  the 
bay,  and  the   children   were   alone. 

"  What  is  that  ? "  they  cried,  when  they 
saw  the  ship. 


THE   ARMY   OF   TWO  117 

"  It  looks  like   an   English  ship." 

"  But  what  is  it  doing  in  our  harbor?  " 

"  I  fear  it  has  come  for  no  good,"  Rebecca 
thought. 

Then  the  children  ran  up  into  the  light- 
house to  watch.  Yes,  it  was  an  English  ship, 
coming  straight  into  the  bay.  It  had  already 
begun  its  mischief;  for  it  had  set  fire  to  a 
little  sloop  that  lay  outside  the  harbor. 

"  Oh,  if  I  were  a  man,  would  n't  I  fight  ? " 
cried    Rebecca. 

"And  I,  too,"  cried  Sarah. 

The  little  girls  watched  and  watched. 
What  could  they  do?  If  they  could  only 
warn  the  people  of  the  village!  But  they 
could  not,  for  they  had  no  boat. 

"  Could  n't  we  scare  the.  English  away?" 
they  wondered. 

"  There  is  a  drum  in  the  lighthouse,"  said 
Rebecca. 

"There  is  a  fife,  too.  Let  us  go  and  get 
them  ! " 


u8  AMERICA'S   STORY 

"  I  can  beat  the  drum." 

"  And  I  can  play  the  fife,"  said  Sarah. 

Then    down  the    stairway  the    two  children 

ran    to    find     the    drum     and    the    fife.      They 

would   play  them  as  hard    as    ever   they  could, 

and     perhaps     the     English    would    think    an 

army    was    coming. 

Then     the     children     crept     around    behind 

the  lighthouse  and  along  through  the  bushes. 
"  Rub-a-dub,    rub-a-dub-dub-dub  !  " 
"  Squeakity-squeak  !     Squeakity-squeak !  " 
"  Hark  !  "    called   the   English   captain. 
"  Rub-a-dub,  rub-a-dub,  rub-a-dub-dub  !  " 
"  Squeakity-squeak !     Squeakity-squeak  !  " 
"  Troops  !  "   said   the   soldiers.     "  But  where 

are    they?"     Then    they    listened    again.      The 

music  seemed  to  be  coming  nearer  and  nearer. 
"  They  are  coming  along  the  point,"  said  the 

captain.     The   soldiers  scrambled  into  the  ship 

and  pulled  up  the  little  boats. 

"  The   people    have   seen    us.      We   will   go 

away  and  try  this  port  some  other  day,"  said  the 


H.siK-  '< 


Captain  Rebecca  and  Lieutenant  Sarah. 


120  AMERICA'S   STORY 

captain.  Then  they  turned  the  ship  and  sailed 
out  of  the  harbor. 

"  I  believe  they  were  really  frightened  at  our 
music,"  said  the  children. 

Meantime  the  people  in  the  village  heard  the 
music  too.  What  did  it  mean  ?  Where  did  it 
come  from  ? 

As  soon  as  the  ship  turned  away,  the  village 
people  hurried  over  to  the  lighthouse.  And 
what  did  they  find  there  ?     Only  two  little  girls  ! 

"Do  you  think  we  scared  them  away?" 
asked  Rebecca. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  it,"  the  people 
said. 

From  that  time,  as  long  as  Rebecca  and 
Sarah  lived,  they  were  called  Captain  Rebecca 
and  Lieutenant  Sarah.  Sometimes  they  were 
called  the  American  Army  of  Two  ! 


The  Confederate  Flag. 


XII.     THE    BOY   IN    GREY 

(A    SOUTHERN   STORY) 


By  and  by  there  was  still  an- 
other war  in  our  country. 
This  war  however,  was  not 
with  the  English ;  it  was  be- 
tween our  own  people  in  the 
North  and  our  own  people  in 
the  South. 

It  was  a  sad  war.  The 
men  on  both  sides  were  brave 
and  true  to  what  they  thought 
was  right.  Even  the  school- 
boys fought  in  this  war;  and 
there  are  many  stories  told  of 
their  bravery. 


T22  AMERICA'S   STORY 

There  was  one  boy  in  the  Southern  army 
whose  name  was  James  Dinkins.  He  had  been 
sent  to  a  North  Carolina  school  where  boys  are 
taught  to  be  soldiers;  and  there  he  was  when 
the  war  began. 

The  boys  of  the  school  longed  to  go  to  the 
war;  and  all  the  boys  who  were  old  enough 
went.  But  James  was  a  new  boy,  and  had  not 
been  in  training  very  long.  Then,  too,  he  was 
too  young  to  go  to  the  war. 

"  But  I  must  go,"  he  would  beg. 

"  Too  young,"  the  colonel  would  say. 

One  day  word  came  that  the  Northern  sol- 
diers were  coming,  and  that  there  would  be  a 
battle. 

"  I  must  go  and  fight,"  James  said.  "  I 
cannot  stay  at  school  and  let  the  Northern 
soldiers  fight  my  people !  " 

So  at  last  he  was  allowed  to  go.  Very 
soon  there  was  fighting,  and  James  and  the 
other  cadets  from  the  military  school  were 
formed  in  line. 


THE   BOY   IN    GREY  123 

"  Forward,  cadets  !  "  the  colonel  cried.  "  Guide 
centre  !     Charge  bayonets  !     Double  quick  !  " 

The  bullets  flew  about  their  heads,  but  not 
a  boy  showed  fear.  Straight  forward  they 
charged,  close  up  to  the  ranks  of  the  Northern 
soldiers.     The  Northern  soldiers  were  amazed  ! 

"  Mere  boys ! "  they  said.  Yes,  but  brave 
boys  they  were. 

There  was  a  hot  fight ;  the  Northern  soldiers 
fell  back;  and  the  cadets  were  the  heroes  of  the 
day! 

Now  in  James'  family  there  was  an  old 
slave.  His  name  was  "  Uncle  Freeman."  He 
had  taken  care  of  young  James  ever  since  he 
was  a  baby. 

When  "  Uncle  Freeman "  knew  that  his 
young  "  Massa  "  had  gone  to  the  war,  he  begged 
to  go  and  take  care  of  him  again.  So  when 
James'  father  came  to  visit  his  boy  in  camp 
he  brought  the  old  slave  with  him. 

"  Bress  you'  heart,  honey!"  cried  the  faithful 
Uncle  Freeman.     "  You'  ol'  uncle  come  to  take 


124  AMERICA'S    STORY 

care  ob  you !  Gwine  t'  take  care  ob  you  long  as 
ol'  Uncle  Freeman  lives !  "  And  from  this  time 
James  had  his  faithful  friend  always  by  his 
side  in  battle  and  in  camp. 

One  night  the  cadets  were  to  sleep  in  a  tent 
so  small  that  there  was  hardly  room  to  move. 

"  I  will  not  go  into  that  tent  unless  Uncle 
Freeman  goes  too !  "  said  James.  "  I  will  not 
leave  him  out  here  in  the  cold." 

"But  you  will  freeze  out  there!"  cried  the 
other  cadets. 

"Then  we  will  freeze  together!"  was  James' 
answer. 

After  that  answer,  room  was  made  for  Uncle 
Freeman  in  the  tent,  and  the  old  slave  slept  all 
night  at  his  "Massa's"  feet. 

There  came  a  time  by  and  by  when  there  was 
not  food  enough  for  the  cadets.  Winter  came 
and  they  had  no  warm  clothes.  Their  shoes 
were  so  ragged  and  worn  that  some  of  the 
cadets  bound  rags  around  their  feet  to  keep 
them  from  freezing. 


THE   BOY   IN    GREY  125 

One  day  Uncle  Freeman  could  not  be  found. 
Where  had  he  gone?  Had  he  run  away?  Was 
he  killed  ?    No  one  knew. 

But  one  night  Uncle  Freeman  came  creeping 
back  to  his  young  master's  tent. 

"  Where  have  you  been,  Uncle  Freeman  ? " 
cried  James. 

"  Now  you  hush,  honey  !  "  whispered  the  old 
slave.  "  See  what  dis  ol'  nigger  brought  his 
young  Massa!  " 

The  faithful  servant  had  walked  all  the  way 
to  Richmond,  and  there  he  had  been  "doing 
errands "  till  he  had  earned  some  bread  and 
ham.  And  he  now  brought  this  food  to  the 
half-starved  soldier  boy.  How  good  the  bread 
and  ham  tasted :  for  never  was  there  a  hungrier 
boy  than  this  young  cadet. 

By  and  by  the  old  slave  died.  Camp  life 
was  too  hard  for  him  ;  but  he  died  happy  that 
he  was  able  to  be  with  his  "  young  Massa " 
to  the  end. 

And  what  of  James  ?    Well,  he  served  in  the 


126 


AMERICA'S    STORY 


army  till  the  war  was 
over,  and  he  now  lives  in 
one  of  the  cities  of  the 
South.  He  is  always 
ready  to  tell  stories  of 
the  war  and  of  old  Uncle 
Freeman.  But  if  you 
should  ever  happen  to 
meet  this  hero,  you  must 
be  sure  to  call  him  Lieu- 
tenant Dinkins  !  For 
though  he  was  only  a 
boy,  he  earned  that 
honor  before  the  war 
was  over. 

Here  is  a  picture  of 
him  in  his  lieutenant's 
uniform,  taken  in  Sep- 
tember,  1864. 

He  is  more  proud  of 
his  uniform  now  than 
when  he  first  won  it. 


The   American  Flag. 


XIII.     THE   BOY   IN    BLUE 
(a  northern  story) 

Harry  Barton  was  just  six- 
teen years  old,  and  was  a  cadet 
in  a  Northern  military  school. 
Like  all  '  Northern  boys 
Harry  longed  to  enlist ;  for 
every  battle  he  read  about 
made  him  more  restless  and 
eager  to  go  to  the  war.  A 
new  company  was  being 
formed.  Harry  could  not 
study,  he  could  not  train,  he 
could  not  work.  He  could 
think  of  nothing  but  the  war. 


128  AMERICA'S    STORY 

One  day  he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  father : 

Dear  Father,  —  Do  please  let  me  go 
to  the  war !  There  is  no  one  left  in  the 
school  now  but  little  boys.  I  can't  study. 
Please  let  me  <ro. 

Your  boy,  Harry. 


CD 


Harry's  father  was  very  sad  when  he  read 
this  letter.     He  knew  what  a  cruel  thing  war  is. 

Still  he  wrote,  "  Yes,  you  may  go."  And 
Harry  rushed  to  the  recruiting  office  with  the 
letter. 

"  See,   see,   I   may  go  !  "  he  cried. 

But  the  recruiting  officer  only  shook  his 
head. 

"  You  are  too  young !  "  he  said. 

"  But  I  am  large  for  my  age ! "  Harry 
pleaded. 

The  officer  only  shook  his  head  again. 

Poor  Harry,  it  was  a  bitter  disappointment. 
But  by  and  by  another  company  was  formed. 

"  We  need  a  drummer  boy,"  said  the  re- 
cruiting   officer. 


THE    BOY   IN    BLUE  129 

"  If  you  would  only  take  me!  "   said  Harry. 

"  Can  you  drum  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  can."  Then  Harry  beat  the 
drum  while  the  fifer  played  the  fife. 

"  Good,  good  !  "  said  the  fifer. 

"All  right,  then,"  said  the  officer.  "We 
will  take  you  along  as  drummer  boy ! " 

Harry  threw  up  his  hat.  "  Hurrah  for  the 
Star  Spangled  Banner!  "  he  shouted. 

On  the  next  day  there  was  a  great  pro- 
cession. The  new  company  marched  up  and 
down  the  streets  of  the  village,  and  Harry 
drummed.  How  proud  he  was  of  his  drum 
and  of  his  uniform  and  his  brass  buttons  ! 

By  and  by  the  company  was  ordered  out, 
and  the  soldiers  marched  all  day  long  under 
the  hot  July  sun.  It  was  a  hard  march  for 
the  new  recruits  ;  and  at  the  end  of  it  Harry 
dropped  in  the  ranks. 

"  He  has  a  sunstroke  !  "  said  the  surgeon. 
"  He  must  be   taken   to   the  hospital." 

For   many  weeks    Harry  lay   on    his  cot  in 

9 


130  AMERICA'S   STORY 

the  hospital,  waiting  to  be  well  again.  At  last 
the  surgeon  said,  "  Well,  my  lad,  do  you  want 
to  go  back  to  your  company  to-day  ?  " 

"Oh,   may   I   go?"    Harry  cried. 

"  Your  company  is  five  miles  from  here. 
Do  you  think  you  can  walk  so  far  ?  " 

"  I  can  walk  ten  miles  !  "  Harry  said  eagerly. 
"  But  do  you   mean  that  I   may  go  to-day  ?  " 

"  Yes,  you  may  go,"  the  surgeon  answered. 
"  And  you  are  a   brave  soldier,  my  boy !  " 

Then  off  Harry  started,  his  drum  on  his  back. 

"  Who  goes  there  ?  "  called  the  sentinel,  as 
Harry  reached  the  lines. 

"  Hallo,  Elias,  is  that  you  ?  "  he  answered. 

But  Elias  would  make  no  answer.  "  Give 
the  countersign  ! "  he  called  again. 

"  Now,  Elias,  you  know  who  I  am,  and  you 
know  I  don't  know  the  countersign.  Are  n't 
you  going  to  let  me  in?"  laughed  Harry,  for 
Elias  and   Harry  were  old  boy  friends. 

"Countersign,  or  you  are  a  dead  man!" 
answered    Elias,  coolly. 


THE   BOY   IN    BLUE  131 

"  But  I  don't  know  the  countersign  ! " 

"  Corporal  of  the  guard !  Post  number 
four  1 "    shouted    Elias. 

The  corporal  came  hurrying  to  the  post. 
"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "     he  said. 

"Man  trying  to  break  my  guard,  sir!'' 
was  the  sentinel's  answer. 

When  the  corporal  saw  Harry,  he  said, 
"  Well,  well !     Here  is  our  drummer  boy  again  !  " 

Harry  tumbled  into  his  straw  bed  that  night 
a  very  tired,  but  a  very  happy  boy.  At  day- 
break, the  company  was  called   out  for  battle. 

Company  D!    Fall  in!    The  enemy  is  upon  us!" 

Then  Company  D  fell  in ;  and  most  bravely  it 
fought.  It  was  Harry's  first  battle.  Many  of 
his  boy  comrades  were  killed ;  but  he  drummed 
bravely  on,  though  bullets  whizzed  about  him. 

In  a  few  months  Company  D  went  into 
winter  quarters.  It  was  a  hard,  bitter  winter. 
Harry  had  never  known  before  what  it  was 
to  be  cold  and  hungry.  Then,  too,  the  company 
had  to  drill,  drill,  drill,  day  in  and  day  out. 


132  AMERICA'S    STORY 

How  tired  the  boys  were ;  and  how  glad  they 
were  when  the  sun  went  down,  and  they  could 
rest  till  morning. 

At  last  word  came  that  there  would  be 
no  more  fighting.  The  war  was  ended,  and 
the  company  might  go  back  to  their  homes. 

Alas,  there  were  few  in  Harry's  company  left 
alive ;  for  many  of  the  brave  boys  had  been 
killed  in  battle. 

But  it  was  a  happy  day  for  Harry  when  the 
train  rolled  into  his  own  little  town.  The  depot 
was  crowded  with  people  to  welcome  the  sol- 
diers, and  Harry's  father  was  there.  "Are  you 
there,  Harry?"  he  called. 

"Here,  father!"  Harry  shouted  back. 

"Thank  God!"  was  all  the  father  could  say 
when  his  boy  leaped  from  the  train. 

"  Thank  God  ! "  And  the  happy  tears  rolled 
down  his  cheeks.  "  War  is  a  cruel  thing,  my 
boy,"  he  said.  "  A  cruel  thing  ;  and  may  there 
never  be   another  in  this   fair  land  of  ours." 


